Lincoln Gets Limber
by Just4FunFiction
Summary: After the events of The Loudest Yard, Lincoln is encouraged to try and find a different sport to keep himself active. Thanks to his friend, he finds something he would never have imagined enjoying, but how will his family react? And what changes will this bring to Lincoln's life? Cover art by MariusWales on DeviantArt.
1. Ch 1- Parents' Request

**(A/N: Hey, everyone! I want to thank everyone who voted on the poll I set up a while back (okay, more than a while), and can confirm this was the winner. I will be doing the others later, so for those who wanted the others to win, keep your eyes open. **

**Just a couple of small notes- I know the timeline in this probably won't correlate that well with the timeline of the show, assuming the episodes are in chronological order. All I can really say is to just go with it- it'll make a lot more sense that way.**

**Also, as I am now in the middle of my second year assignments, I don't know how much time I will have to work on new chapters. I've written about a few week's worth so far to make it easier on me, but I cannot promise there will be consistent uploads after that, so if you do like this story, please follow.**

**So, without any further ado, please enjoy!)**

It was the start of another Monday in Royal Woods, Michigan. The temperature was warm, but not too high, and the skies were clear, allowing the sun to shine down. The small town just North of Detroit was quiet as always, except for one particular house- 1216 Franklin Avenue, otherwise known as the Loud House. Yes, this house was famous throughout the town and quite a few neighbouring towns for its inhabitants. The Loud family were renowned for their large family with even larger personalities, so whenever anyone drove by, the house was almost always the source of chaos, commotion and general noise in one form or another.

In one particular room stood the only boy, Lincoln Loud. The eleven-year-old snowy-haired child had just finished getting dressed, wearing his standard outfit of an orange polo-shirt, blue jeans and grey socks in white and red sneakers. Noticing the reader, he turned to them and smiled, showing off his overbite.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted. "Now, I know what you're thinking- Lincoln, it's a Monday morning, meaning you have to go to school. Why are you so happy? Well, the answer is simple- having been grounded for the past week, that ends today and I'll finally be able to play my video games again!" He took on a more serious facial expression as he left his room, the reader following. "For those who don't remember, this all happened because my mom wanted me to start getting more exercise. I kept trying to get out of it, so they signed me up for the football team, and kept my video games to make sure I made an effort. As you can imagine, I was less than thrilled, so I tried getting Lynn to help me, but that didn't go so well. After that, we decided that she would take my place instead. It was working… until she got injured in the last game of the season. Feeling guilty, I decided to step in for her in the last play of the game…" He frowned, remembering what followed. "Only to score against my team and cost us the game, which caused the team to beat me up."

He shuddered, feeling where he still had bruises on the back of his arm. "Still, after that, my parents lessened my grounding to a week, which I deserved. The important thing is that it's over, and I won't have to play football ever again."

He began walking towards the staircase, before he stopped upon hearing a door open. Looking, he saw his older sister Lynn Jr. emerge, the ponytailed brunette using crutches to support herself as she walked, due to the fact her leg was currently in a cast. She noticed Lincoln and smiled.

"Hey, bro," she greeted.

"Hey, Lynn," Lincoln replied, subconsciously fighting not to stare too hard at her cast, "how's your leg?"

She shrugged. "Eh, I've had worse. Cast should come off in a couple of weeks, three tops."

"Right," he began rubbing the back of his neck, "sorry about that. Again."

She rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan. "Stinkoln, shut up already! I've told you, it's not your fault, so get over yourself."

Though he was rolling his eyes, he smiled. "You're right."

She smirked. "Besides, it's allowed me to put a lot more effort into working out my upper body. Check it out." She lifted up the bottom of her shirt, revealing a toned set of abdominal muscles. "Now, that's a pro six pack right there."

Lincoln's eyes widened. "Woah! I don't think I've ever seen one in real life!"

Lynn snorted a laugh. "Not surprising, bro. Besides, if you want, I can start training you again. Under my tutelage, you'll have rock hard muscles in no time!"

He chuckled. "That's okay. Besides, I think we've both learned that I'm not cut out for such exercise."

Her smile faded with a nod. "How you feeling, by the way? I know that game kinda haunted you a bit."

She was right, as the beating he received after the game had caused him to be reclusive for a couple of days, as well as him having mild nightmares for a few nights. "Better now. Still, I'm glad I won't be doing football again, so hopefully I won't have to deal with… them anymore."

Her smirk returned. "Relax, Stinkoln. Coach said I can join again once I'm healed, so if they start talking smack about you, I'll just smack 'em about myself."

This caused the boy to smile again. "Thanks, Lynn."

"KIDS! BREAKFAST IS READY!" They heard their father shout from downstairs.

"Guess we'd better go down." Lincoln turned to his sister. "You need a hand getting downstairs?"

"You kidding? All that work on my core and arms was good for something! Watch this!"

Lincoln watched as Lynn hoisted herself up, using the crutches to keep her legs in the air. She then slowly began walking with her crutches, a look of intense concentration on her face as she approached the stairs. Lincoln held his breath, worried for his sister's safety. "Lynn, I don't know if this is such a-" He cut himself off and watched in awe as she slowly and steadily, but nonetheless successfully, made her way downstairs, step by step. The closer she got to the bottom, the more confident she felt, and by the time she was at the bottom, she relaxed.

"Oh, yeah!" Turning back, she smirked at seeing Lincoln with his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "Told you, bro! All that training's good for something!"

As Lynn headed towards the kitchen, Lincoln snapped himself awake, just in time to hear a stampede of feet heading his way. He got out of the way of his other nine sisters, all rushing down stairs to get some food. Once the stairs were clear and his sisters were all in the kitchen, he looked back at the reader. "And that's how you survive the call for breakfast in the Loud House."

Lincoln headed downstairs, passing through the dining room where his sisters were sitting down with their breakfast and into the kitchen. He saw his father, Lynn Sr., stood at the stove. The brown-haired man in the green sweater, green checked button-up shirt, brown trousers and brown shoes, looked over his shoulder and smiled at his only son. "Morning, champ!" He greeted.

"Morning, dad," Lincoln greeted back with an equal smile.

"Your breakfast will be ready in a moment, I, uh… accidentally dropped your egg."

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "That's okay, dad." At that moment, he heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. Turning around, Lincoln saw his mother Rita entering, wearing her typical pink shirt, purplish-brown pants and black shoes. She was still a little visibly tired, and carrying a cup of coffee, but still smiled when Lincoln said, "Morning, mom."

"Morning, sweetie," she greeted back. "Good thing you're here, because your father and I need to talk to you."

Lincoln was surprised to hear this, but nodded in response. "Okay, sure."

"Now, first of all, your grounding is officially over, and I will put back your video games when I get back from work."

Lincoln's smile shot up as he pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

"But!" This shot down his immediate enthusiasm. "Your father and I have decided that we would still like you to try and find some way to get regular exercise." Lincoln's smile turned into a frown as he opened his mouth to respond. "Let me finish." He shut his mouth accordingly, not wanting to anger his mother. "While we realise that trying to force you to do football was a bad idea, we still think that you need a hobby other than video games or comic books."

"Okay, but can't I just use the Dance Battle game at Gus' arcade?" Lincoln offered.

"Nice try, Lincoln," Lynn Sr. told him as he began putting Lincoln's breakfast on a plate, "but you have to keep your eyes on a screen for that, and you're only exercising your feet. You need to find something that will give you a better overall workout, you know?"

Lincoln sighed, ducking his head down. "Okay. I'll… try, I guess."

Rita placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's all we can ask of you, Lincoln."

"We talked with your gym teacher," Lynn explained, "and he said that your school has an track club after school. Now, I'll be picking you up after practice, so I'll be making sure you did at least try."

"Yes, dad," Lincoln replied.

"But try and have some fun with it, okay?" Lincoln nodded. "That's good. Now, go on, your breakfast is ready."

He handed the plate to Lincoln, who then took it into the dining room, where all ten of his sisters had seemingly been listening in on the conversation, as he caught them all looking at him for a brief moment before they tried to play it cool. He rolled his eyes as he took a seat between his rocker third oldest sister Luna and his grease monkey fourth youngest sister Lana. His oldest sister Lori was chatting with his second oldest sister Leni about her date plans for the weekend, Luna was tapping a beat with her cutlery, Lynn Jr was doing her best to ignore the constant puns from his fourth oldest sister Luan, Lana and her twin Lola were having an argument across the table, while his fifth youngest sister Lucy, his second youngest sister Lisa, and his baby sister Lily were all eating quietly.

"Hey, bro," he heard Luna ask, "what did the rents want with you, huh?"

This seemed to gather everyone's attention, as all eyes were on the white-haired boy. "Oh," he replied, "they want me to find another sport, after… well, y'know." The ten sisters frowned at the memory of being pummelled by his own team. "Were they ever like this with any of you guys?"

"No, but they literally haven't had to," Lori told him.

"I mean, I can believe that for some of you, since you do golf, Luan learns circus skills at her clown school, Lana does her alligator wrestling, Lola has her ribbon dancing, and Lynn basically does every sport on the planet." The majority of his sisters laughed at their brother's joke, while Lynn just smirked proudly. "I can also understand why they don't say this with Lily since she's too young, but what about the rest of you? Why don't mom and dad ask you to find a sport?"

"Well, I do dance classes, like, every week," Leni explained. "My friend Jackie got me into it when she told me about the cute instructor guy."

"Huh. Never would have guessed."

"Well, you know how hard I rock out, bro, always gotta push it to the limit," Luna told him. "An hour long concert for me is pretty much a workout itself, plus it takes muscle to help Chunk load the van time after time."

Lincoln nodded, then turned to Lucy and Lisa, since they were sat side by side. "What about you guys?"

"You forget that I do Tai Chi," Lisa reminded him, the scientist adjusting her glasses. "Not only does it improve my muscle strength, but my flexibility and balance too."

"I get a good workout from digging graves," Lucy said in her typical monotonous voice. "That, and at the young mortician's club, we switch roles every now and then, so sometimes, I'll be a pallbearer."

Even though he was used to most of his goth sister's weird hobbies and activities, this still caught him off guard, causing him to blink. "… okay then."

"Lincoln, look at this way," Lynn spoke, getting his attention, "if you find a sport you actually enjoy, then it won't feel like exercise as much. Sure, it takes effort to be good- I should know," they all rolled their eyes in response to that statement, "but as long as you find something you like, it'll be worth it."

While his sisters voiced their agreement, Lincoln mulled it over in his head, before smiling back at the injured jock. "You know what? You're right. Thanks, Lynn."

"Eh, no worries."

While the siblings continued to eat, Lynn Sr. and Rita continued their conversation in the kitchen. "Do you think he'll take to it this time?" Lynn asked.

His wife groaned slightly. "Honestly, I'm not sure, Lynn," she responded. "I just hope he tries. I don't want him to fall in with that stereotype that gamers are lazy, you know? I knew friends in college who were like that, and it affected them pretty badly. Not only did they keep using games to procrastinate, but they also became quite unhealthy."

Lynn frowned at the notion. "Honey, just because it happened to them, I doubt it'll come to that with Lincoln."

"I know, but I can't help but worry. I just want Lincoln to be healthy and make the most of his childhood."

He put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a supportive smile. "He will. Just wait, I'll bet he find something that makes him really happy."

She smiled back, placing a hand on top of his and giving it a squeeze. "I hope so."


	2. Ch 2- On The Track

"So, your parents are really making you go through with it?" Zach asked Lincoln as they sat around the lunchroom table with their other friends Liam, Rusty, Clyde and Stella, the new girl.

"Yep," Lincoln replied, somewhat exhaustedly. "I know they mean well, and they just want me to be healthy, but I just wish there was another way I could do this."

"Why not just get a bunch of them exercise games?" Liam suggested. "You get your video games, they see you working out- everyone's a winner!"

"I tried suggesting something like that, but the said they wanted me to do something where I wasn't staring at a screen constantly." He blinked as he remembered something his mother had originally tried. "Which, now that I think about it, doesn't explain why my mom tried to get me to be fitter by following one of her exercise videos."

"Parents will just say one thing, and then say the opposite later if it makes their point," Rusty explained. "Trust me, if I was in your shoes, my dad would be exactly the same."

"I'm sure there's more to it than that, Rusty," Stella offered, before turning to the white-haired boy. "Besides, maybe you'll have fun with it. You won't know unless you give it a try."

"I guess… still, I don't know if track is something I'll find fun."

"Surprising, after the way you were running after that football game," Liam commented, causing Zach and Rusty to start sniggering.

Stella rolled her eyes at them. "Knock it off, you guys," she scolded, before smiling back to Lincoln. "Anyway, if you're doing track after school, I'll be there too, so you won't be alone."

"I didn't know you did track! When did you start?"

"I did it for a bit before I came to Royal Woods, and I decided to take a couple of weeks to settle in at school before starting again."

"I still don't understand why they're getting on your case so much," Clyde admitted. "I mean, my parents are fine with the fact I don't do any sports."

Lincoln deadpanned at his best friend. "Clyde, you're an only child, so they don't have anyone to compare you with, whereas I have ten sisters who all get exercise in some form, so they expect me to do the same. Also, you have asthma."

Before he could retort, Clyde realised that what Lincoln was saying was completely true. "Oh, right."

Lincoln rolled his eyes, then turned to his other friends. "What about you guys? Did your parents ever have to make you take up exercise?"

Liam shook his head. "Naw, working on the farm gives me all the exercise I need."

"My dad never minded," Rusty spoke next, "though it probably helps I'm on my bike a lot."

"My parents are more concerned about me keeping up with class," Zach explained next.

"My parents didn't make me take up track," Stella added, "but they were eager to allow me to sign up when I asked them." She noticed how his expression was sullied by the answers he received, so she gave a soft smile. "Don't worry about it too much. As long as you give it a try, they can't be mad at you. You'll be fine."

This seemed to improve Lincoln's mood, as he nodded with a smile. "Thanks, guys."

* * *

As the final bell of the day rang, everyone in Lincoln's class eagerly smiled as they began packing their things away. While Lincoln also began to pack his stuff up, he was nowhere near as in a hurry to leave. A woman in her late thirties with her red hair held up in a bun by a pencil, wearing a green turtleneck, dark green skirt, gold belt, green knee high socks and black shoes, put down the chalk in her hand and turned to her class.

"Alright, class," Mrs Johnson announced, "that will be all for today. Make sure your homework is complete and I'll see you tomorrow."

The class of sixth graders began to fill the hallway, which was already fairly full due to the rest of the school also eagerly making their way out of the building. Clyde and Lincoln were among the last to leave the class, walking over to their lockers which they opened up and began to clear out.

"So, I guess this is where I wish you good luck," Clyde told his friend after closing his locker. "See you tomorrow?"

"Hopefully, if I can actually move in the morning," Lincoln jested, putting his gym bag over his shoulder and closing his locker, before patting Clyde on the back. "But thanks, buddy."

"No problem, Lincoln. See you later!"

With that, they parted ways. While Clyde began to head home, Lincoln made his way through the corridors of the elementary school, passing through the dining hall until he reached the gym. He entered and walked over to the open door on the far right. Upon reaching it, he looked in and saw a hefty man wearing a yellow polo, red sweatpants, white sneakers and a red baseball cap over his brown hair. The man grabbed a whistle attached to a blue string and a clipboard, then turned and saw the white-haired sixth grader. "Ah, Loud," he spoke. "Good to see you showed up."

"Sure did, Coach Pakowski," Lincoln replied.

"Well, at least you're making an effort. Go and get changed, then head outside to the track."

"Uh, Coach? Will any of the football players be doing this as well?"

The coach paused for a moment, before realising why he was being asked this. "There tend to be one or two, but rest assured, I will NOT allow roughhousing. That dumbass who coached you before might have allowed it, and I'll admit I might if I was coaching football, but not for track."

Lincoln felt somewhat relieved at hearing this. "Thanks, Coach."

"Yeah, yeah, now go get changed! Be out there in five minutes or you'll do five laps off the bat!"

Lincoln didn't need telling twice. He nodded to the coach, before walking over to the other side of the gym, walking through the tunnel under the bleachers and into the boys' changing rooms. He placed his stuff on one of the empty spots and began to get changed, but after he traded his usual shirt for his red PE shirt, he heard the door open.

"Look who it is!" He heard someone say. Turning around, Lincoln gulped when he saw a boy his age with dark brown crew cut hair, smirking as he walked up to the Loud boy. "If it isn't the moron who cost us the game."

"Uh, Hey…" Lincoln replied nervously, as visible by his smile. "You, uh, remembered me, huh?"

"Kind of hard to forget something that stupid! That must have been blunder of the year!" The boy laughed hard, causing Lincoln to frown. "Aww, is the baby gonna cry? Maybe you should head home and be girly with your sisters, since it's clear you're not cut out for sports!"

Lincoln's frown turned to a scowl, as he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth tightly. He prepared to yell at the jerk for even mentioning his sisters, but was stopped when he heard another voice.

"Cut it out, Markus," said the voice, which belonged to a redhead boy in a yellow shirt with a green turtle, white long sleeved undershirt, grey jeans and white sneakers with green stripes.

"Aww, what's wrong, Chandler?" The boy taunted. "Do you not like me teasing the baby?"

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. Better get changed before Coach makes you run in your undies again."

Lincoln did his best to suppress his laughter as the dark-haired boy blushed out of embarrassment, muttering to himself as he walked to the other end of the changing room. Once he did, Lincoln smiled at the redhead. "Thanks, Chandler."

He waved it off in response. "No biggie. So, since when did you do sports?"

"I don't, really, but my parents are making me find some sort of exercise, so they asked me to try track."

Chandler nodded. "Sounds about right. Still, at least you're giving it a try. I'll see you out there."

Lincoln nodded, before returning to getting changed. It was a minute later when he ran out to the track, wearing his red PE kit. He saw the other kids who were also wearing their PE kits. After spotting Stella doing some stretches among them, he walked over to her. "Hey, Stella," he greeted.

"Lincoln! You made it!" She happily replied, before noticing Coach Pakowski heading their way. "Just in time, too. Had Coach caught you arriving late, he'd-"

"Make me run in my undies?" Stella nodded. "Yeah, I heard one of the guys in the locker room mention it."

The sound of a whistle being blown gathered the attention of the elementary schoolers, who turned to face their coach. "Alright, everyone, gather up," he instructed, which they did with no hesitation. "Today, we're going to be working on- Stevens!" Behind them, a brown haired boy halted after being shouted at. "You're late! Give me twenty squats, now!" The kid moaned before doing as he was instructed. "Now, as I was saying, you'll be doing relay practice today, so let's not waste any time. Give me one lap around the track at a jogging pace."

He blew the whistle once again, and they set off jogging around the track. Lincoln kept up with everyone, though he was closer to the back. After they finished the lap, the coach led them through a series of stretches.

'Alright, this isn't too bad,' Lincoln thought while stretching his leg, 'maybe I can enjoy this after all.'

"Okay, everyone should be warmed up now," Pakowski called out, prompting everyone to cease stretching and stand still. "Today, as I said before, you'll be doing relay practice. I'm gonna put each of you somewhere around the track. One of you will start with the baton, and you'll run to the first handoff. We'll keep doing this until the last person returns to the finish line. Anyone who drops the baton, you'll go to the centre and give me twenty press ups. Are we all clear?" No one responded, not that it mattered as he didn't wait long enough for them to do so. "Alright, no more screwing around. Hop to it!"

He divided up the students into the four positions, with Lincoln being sent to the far side of the track. Among the three others was Chandler, which made Lincoln feel slightly more comfortable.

"Alright, when I blow my whistle, the first person will run! If I call your name out, get ready to receive the baton and go! Ready?" Once again, Coach Pakowski didn't wait to receive a response, as he blew the whistle. The first kid took the baton and ran with it, heading around the track to the first handoff, where he would pass it on to Stella. "Loud! You're next!"

Lincoln blinked in surprise, but got into position. "When Stella gets halfway, start jogging ahead," Chandler whispered.

"Thanks," Lincoln responded with a nod, then turned his head back in time to see Stella getting near. He began to jog ahead, keeping an eye behind him.

"Heads up!" Stella called to the white-haired boy. She closed the distance and held the baton out in front of her, which he managed to accept from her before tuning his jog into a run. He made his way around the track, with a smile starting to form on his face.

'This is going well!' Lincoln thought. 'Maybe this could work for me!'

As he neared the handoff, however, he realised that the next runner was the same boy who had taunted him in the locker room. "Hurry up, Loud!" He barked as he started to jog ahead. Lincoln did his best to catch up to him, but when he attempted to pass the baton, it slipped through the dark haired boy's fingers, falling to the floor.

"Markus! That's a drop! Do your run, then give me twenty in the centre!" Pakowski ordered.

Markus looked incredulous at this, throwing his arms in the air. "What?! But, Coach, that was him who dropped it! That wasn't my fault!"

"No arguing, or it'll be fifty! Now, keep it moving!"

Picking up the baton, Markus shot a deadly glare towards Lincoln, accompanying it with a growl that made the Loud boy feel uncomfortable before he ran away. As the next kid in that position pushed him aside, Lincoln stepped back a bit, feeling that he was beginning to have second thoughts.


	3. Ch 3- Rest

**(A/N: I forgot to say this at the start of the last chapter, so I'll say it here- wow! I was not expecting such a positive response to this, especially straight away! Your reviews, favourites and follows have meant a lot to me, so thank you so, so much for the support! **

**In terms of this chapter, this is where the timeline of this story doesn't really add up with the series' chronology, so please keep that in mind. Thank you again, and I hope you continue to enjoy!)**

It was just a couple of minutes after four when Lynn Sr. pulled Vanzilla into a parking school outside of Royal Woods Elementary School, with a smile on his face. It was the one day of the week where he had an early finish, so he had agreed to collect his son from school after his practice. As he turned off the engine, Lynn continued humming to himself. 'I wonder how Lincoln got on,' he thought, opening the door and stepping out. 'Who knows? Maybe he'll actually turn out to be really good at it!'

He locked the van door, before sauntering over to where he could see a number of students exiting behind the school, all wearing their PE kits. As he got closer, he saw the school's PE teacher and coach to most of the sports teams, so he raised his hand to wave at him.

"Coach!" He called out, getting the hefty man's attention. Lynn walked past a couple of students, unknowing of the fact that they were sniggering at him. "How you doing, Coach?"

"Eh, same as always, Loud," he replied. "How's the restaurant?"

Lynn's smile didn't falter, since he knew that Coach Pakowski was rather fond of the food at Lynn's Table. "Busy as usual, but today's my easy day, so I thought I'd pick up Lincoln." His expression turned serious for a moment. "Speaking of Lincoln, how did he get on? He didn't try to bail out, did he?"

"No, Lincoln turned up on time, warmed up and took part same as everyone else."

The Loud patriarch bent over and exhaled out of relief. "Well, that's good to hear. I'm just glad he made an effort." Straightening his posture, Lynn noticed his son heading towards them, accompanied by Stella with his arm around her shoulder, so he smiled. "Ah! There's my boy!"

Lincoln looked over at his dad, then turned to Stella. "I think I've got it from here," he told her.

"Are you sure?" She asked, to which the snow-capped middle child nodded. "Alright." He removed his arm from her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Stella." She waved to him as she walked away, while Lincoln began to slowly limp towards his father, favouring his left leg. Despite winding from the mild pain, Lincoln struggled a smile as he approached the two adults. "Hey, dad."

Lynn noticed the way Lincoln favoured his leg, and frowned. "You okay there, champ?"

"I'm okay, I just- pulled a muscle, I think."

"Yeah, I think you overexerted your leg during that last lap," Pakowski told the boy. "Just give it a day to rest, and come see me on Wednesday if it gets worse."

"Thanks, Coach," Lynn told the PE teacher.

"It's nothing." He looked back to the boy. "See you around school, kid."

Whilst Pakowski walked away, the two Loud males looked at each other. "Alright, lets head on home, kiddo," Lynn told his son. Lincoln nodded, before the two slowly made their way back to Vanzilla. Once the pair of them were in the van and buckled in, the father turned on the engine and began to drive away. "So, Lincoln, what did you think of track, huh?"

"It was… okay," Lincoln quietly responded, looking out the window.

Lynn glanced over at his son, concern taking over his mind. "Just okay?"

Lincoln sighed. "If I'm being honest with you, dad, I didn't really enjoy myself. I didn't really feel any energy for it or any accomplishment- by the end, I just felt tired."

"Well, sometimes, sports do that to you, Lincoln."

"I know, but… I just didn't have fun doing it."

Lynn sighed, giving a nod. "I hear you. Still, I'm proud of you for giving it a go this time. That's a big improvement from…" He cleared his throat, realising his mistake. "Well, you know."

Lincoln frowned. The two remained in an awkward silence for a minute or so, before Lincoln finally spoke up again. "Dad… are you upset that I'm not into sports like Lynn is?"

Lynn Sr. blinked, surprised to hear this. "What makes you say this?"

"Well, it's just… every time we come back from one of Lynn's games, you're always so proud of her, and I always notice that there are other dads doing the same for their kids. I just wondered if that was something you wanted."

The patriarch was quiet, thinking very carefully about how to respond to this sudden amount of truth, before figuring out what to say. "Lincoln… let me tell you a little something about parents. When a man finds out he is going to have a child, a lot of the time, they'll hope it's a boy, because for men, one of the first dreams you get after hearing the news is of them playing sports with their son, and if they do have a boy, that'll make them want that so much more." He took a deep breath. "I'll admit that I was like that when we found out that you were going to be a boy."

Lincoln frowned again. "Oh, I… I see."

"Now, hold on a minute, Lincoln. Let me finish. While it is true that I would have liked that, as I've watched you grow over the last eleven years, I've seen you become your own person. You've developed your own interests and hobbies, you've acquired your own skills, and you've become the person only you can be. And no matter how much I would have liked you to be into sports so we could share that, I am so much prouder at the fact that you've accomplished what you have."

"Really? But… what have I accomplished? Everyone else has all those trophies and awards and-"

Lynn chuckled. "I don't mean things like that. I mean that you've been able to grow up into a kind, caring, independently creative eleven-year-old boy. So, you don't have lots of awards and stuff, that doesn't matter. I know you say that you haven't found your path yet, but that doesn't matter either. You'll find it when you're ready to. I mean, look at me- I worked in IT for so long before I chose to become a chef. That's just how life can be." He briefly turned his head to smile at his son. "So, don't worry too much about that- just enjoy your time as a kid, and you'll find your path one way or another. I just know it."

Lincoln smiled at his father after hearing this. "Thanks, dad."

"No problem, kiddo. And I know it might sound strange that I'm saying all this, since your mother and I trying to get you to take up sport, but we won't force you to do anything you don't want to. Not again, at least." Lincoln nodded, before realising that they were already near home. Lynn pulled the van into the driveway. "You need a hand getting inside, son?"

He shook his head in response. "No, I should be okay. I think I'll just head to my room for a bit and relax."

"Sounds like a smart idea. You do that, and I'll call when dinner's ready."

"Thanks."

While Lincoln got out of the car and steadily limped towards the house, Lynn locked Vanzilla before going ahead to get the door for him. The father of eleven watched as his son gingerly walked past him and up the stairs, before walking through the living room, which was surprisingly empty at that time of day, and entered the bedroom he shared with his wife. Once inside, he sat down on the bed, which was already half occupied by Rita, who smiled upon seeing him.

"Hey, honey," she greeted as he stuck his legs up on the bed after removing his shoes, "how was work?"

"It was okay," he replied, "Monday's are always a light day, which makes things easier. What about you? How was your day?"

"Same as always, I guess." She put down the book that was in her hands. "So, did you get Lincoln from track?"

"Yeah, I did."

She frowned upon hearing his slightly downcast tone. "So, I'm guessing he didn't do so well?"

"Well, Coach told me he tried pretty much as hard as the rest of the students, but Lincoln pulled a muscle during the final race. Plus, when I asked him about it, Lincoln told me he didn't enjoy himself that much."

"He actually said that?" Lynn nodded, causing her to sigh. "Well, at least we know he tried."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Well, there must be something he can enjoy. We just know it won't be track or football, but if he keeps trying new things, then I'm sure he'll find something."

"Honey, do you think we should maybe let Lincoln find something himself?" Rita looked questioningly at her husband. "We both know that it's best for him if he finds SOME way of getting exercise, but maybe us finding it for him is the wrong way to go about it."

"You really think so?"

"I really do."

She mulled it over in her head for a moment, before deciding he was right. "Alright. I just hope he finds something."

Lynn placed a hand on her shoulder and gave an encouraging smile. "He will. We just need to trust him."

Lincoln lowered his comic when he heard his door open. Looking to who had opened it, he saw Lynn Jr approach on her crutches. "Hey, bro!" She said. "How was track?"

"Oh, hey, Lynn," he replied. "It was… okay."

He moved to sit himself upright, causing him to wince when he felt a bit of pain in his favoured leg. Lynn immediately took notice of this. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just pulled something." He rubbed the sore spot a little. "It'll be fine, I'm sure."

"Want me to take a look at it?"

"That's okay, Lynn, you don't need to-" She ignored this as she shuffled his leg and sat next to it, before beginning to massage it. "Ah! Easy, Lynn, that- actually… that's pretty good." She smirked as her brother relaxed while she massaged the pulled muscle. "How did you get so good at massaging people?"

She scoffed. "Lincoln, I've been doing sports for more than half my life, and I've had every kind of minor injury you can get, along with a couple of not so minor ones. That, and with the amount of times me and the girls have gone to a spa, I've had pretty much every kind of massage there is- Swedish, Shiatsu, Sports, Thai, you name it. After a while, I kind of just picked it up."

"Well, this is actually really helpful. Thanks."

"No problem, bro. So, what did you think of track?"

He frowned. "Well… I didn't really enjoy myself that much. After a while, I just felt like I was running for the sake of it. I don't see myself doing that again."

"Eh, no sweat, bro. You just need to find one that you like."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? This coming from the girl who does every sport imaginable?"

Again, she scoffed. "Oh, yeah, because you guys totally come to see my dance recitals and netball games." They both had a laugh at this, before Lynn stopped massaging his leg and turned to face him properly. "If I named all the sports I've tried, and all the sports that I still do, you'd see that the first list is a lot longer than the second."

Lincoln was interested at where this was going. "So, what sports don't you do anymore?"

"Well, for one thing, I remember when Lori tried to show me how to play golf, and I got bored within the first five minutes. Why can't they make it more interesting, like have everyone race to get the ball in the hole?!" Again, Lincoln started laughing, much to the joy of his sister. "Also, I may have joked about it, but I did try netball once, and I didn't really get into it. Same goes for volleyball and tennis."

"What about dance? Did you ever try that?"

"Never in a million years, bro." She shuffled a bit towards him. "The point is, there'll be things you like and things you don't like. You just need to give things a try and see for yourself."

He gave it a few seconds to sink in, before replying, "thanks, Lynn."

"No problem, bro." She raised a fist, which caused him to flinch. She prepared to punch him, but stopped herself. "Normally, I'd give you two for flinching, but I think you'll get one of these instead."

Lincoln was surprised when Lynn pulled her little brother into a hug, but didn't argue and simply returned it with a smile.


	4. Ch 4- Trial and Error

"Okay, kids!" Rita called up the stairs. "Feet on floor!" She listened as she heard eight pairs of feet land on the floor of the upstairs landing. "You too, Lincoln!" She waited for her son to get up, but heard nothing. "I said, you too, Lincoln!" Once again, she waited, but received no response. "Girls, could one of you wake your brother up?"

"NOT IT!" eight of the girls responded, putting a finger on their nose.

"NOT IT!" Leni responded a second after, then frowned. "Dang it." While the rest of her sisters began queuing up outside of the bathroom, Leni walked across the landing to the far end, stopping at her brother's door, which she then knocked on. "Linky? It's morning, time to wake up." Leni blinked. "Wait. I thought I was Leni?" Blissfully ignorant to the facepalming from some of her sisters who could hear her, she knocked again, then proceeded to walk in. "Linky?" Upon looking at her still sleeping brother, she smiled. He laid there, still as can be save for his gentle intake and outtake of breath. His mouth was slightly opened, with one arm dangling off the edge of the bed and the others holding Bun Bun against his chest. 'He looks so cute like this,' she thought. 'I wish I didn't have to wake him.'

She knew, however, that he needed to go to school, so she walked up to his bed, crouched down and placed a hand on his shoulder. Gently nudging him, she saw his eyes begin to groggily open. Groaning, he reached his hand up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, before looking confused at his older sister. "Huh?"

"Morning, Linky," she greeted her dazed brother. "Time to get up."

"What time is it?" Looking over at the Muscle Fish clock on his wall, he saw that he had overslept by ten minutes, causing his eyes to shoot open and his body to sit up straight. "I thought I set my alarm to wake me up!"

"Maybe you just slept through it?" Leni suggested.

"I guess," he groaned, throwing off the bedding and swinging his legs over the side. "Well, guess I should get ready."

"Okay."

He and Leni stayed there for a few moments, neither saying a word while Leni had her typical happy smile on her face, until Lincoln finally spoke again. "Uh, Leni? Could you leave my room so I can get changed?"

"Oh, no problem! See you at breakfast, Linky!"

She turned around to leave, accidentally bumping into the door on her way out, causing Lincoln to chuckle. Despite her less than excellent intelligence, he loved that Leni was one of the sweetest people he knew, and he would never want her to lose that. Standing up, he realised that his leg was no longer aching. 'Wow, Lynn must have done a better job than I thought with that massage,' he thought, flexing his leg a little, 'I feel good as new! I'll have to thank her when I get downstairs.' He then gave a sniff of his armpit, before shrugging. 'I'll shower later, I guess.'

So, he quickly got unchanged, grabbed some clean clothes and got changed. Grabbing his backpack, he threw it on his back and checked that his laces were tied, before heading out of his room and downstairs. Entering the kitchen, he saw his sisters were lined up as their father finished preparing his famous breakfast sandwiches. Joining the queue, he was quickly seen by his next oldest sister. "Morning, Stinkoln," she jokingly greeted, causing him to roll his eyes. "What, did your alarm clock not go off?"

"Har, har," he responded, his sarcasm laced in his voice and written all over his face. "I was exhausted after track yesterday, so forgive me for sleeping in a little."

She scoffed. "Noob." He jokingly groaned in response, but still had a smile on his face. "Hey, how's your leg by the way?"

"Good, actually!" He flexed it a little to show her. "Doesn't even feel like I injured it! Thanks for that, by the way."

"Ah, no problem. Once you find a sport you like, you'll get into better shape, and that won't happen." Her smile dropped a little as something came to her head. "Hey, what sport are you gonna try next, bro?"

His smile dropped as quickly as hers did. "I… actually, I hadn't thought about that. I was just gonna ask dad, since he was the one who said I should try track."

"Alright. If you need any ideas, though, I can ask around."

And like that, his smile returned. "Thanks, Lynn."

"Eh, what's a big sister for?"

By the time they finished speaking, the line had shortened so it was just them left. Lynn got her sandwich first and headed to Vanzilla, leaving the two males in the family alone in the kitchen.

"How's your leg, champ?" He asked as he fried the egg for his son's sandwich.

"It's better now," Lincoln replied.

"Good to hear."

"So, dad, since track didn't work out, what am I going to try instead?"

"Oh, right! Your mother and I had a talk about that, and we think that we went about this the wrong way."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we think that it was wrong of us to try and make you do a sport, and that instead, you should find something for yourself." Seeing that the egg was done frying, he began to assemble the sandwich. "Before she left for work, your mother asked me to tell you, if you have the time to try speak with Coach Pakowski and see what else there is you can try. You okay with that, champ?"

"Sure thing, dad."

"Attaboy." He then wrapped up the finished sandwich and handed it to the white-haired boy. "Now, you better go before Lori starts honking Vanzilla's horn at you."

As if on cue, they heard exactly that, prompting both of them to say, "too late" and chuckle before Lincoln headed off for school.

* * *

Come lunch time, Lincoln left his classroom while talking with his friends, as they approached their lockers and began to put their things away. "You guys mind saving me a seat?" He asked. "I need to go speak with Coach Pakowski."

"It's a shame you won't carry on doing track," Stella admitted. "You sure you don't want to try again next week?"

"I'm sure. I just wasn't enjoying myself."

"Alright. Well, we'll save you a seat."

"Thanks." So, while his friends all made their way to the lunch hall, Lincoln went the other way around the school towards the sports hall, which was where Coach Pakowski's office could be found. Walking up to the open office door, he looked in and saw the gym teacher sat behind his desk, eating from a packet of chips. "Coach?"

"Huh? Oh, Loud," he greeted, putting the chips down, "come in." Lincoln did so, walking in as the coach gave him his attention. "What can I help you with?"

"I was wondering if there were any other clubs I could try out?"

"Track not work out, huh? Not surprised, to be honest. I saw you weren't enjoying yourself that much. No biggie. We've got a few other sports clubs here, so just give them a try, and see what you like."

Lincoln smiled. "Thanks, Coach."

**TUESDAY- SOCCER**

"Alright, kids!" Coach Pakowski called out to the kids as they stood in a line on the soccer field. "Now that we've warmed up, we'll be practicing some drills, starting with defending in a two-on-one situation. Get into threes, grab a ball, and walk over to one of the red cones." The kids did as instructed, with Lincoln going with two kids that he wasn't too familiar with, though had seen once or twice around school- one was a short, tan boy with black hair, and the other was a fair skinned boy with black hair, who Lincoln knew hung out with Chandler. After everyone was spread out in their groups, Pakowski called out again, "Alright! Here's what's gonna happen. Two of you are gonna take the ball and try to reach the blue cone ahead of you, the other one is gonna try and stop you. Once you've reached the blue cone, or the defender has taken the ball from you, switch around so someone else gets a turn. Keep rotating until I blow my whistle again. Ready?" He raised his whistle to his mouth and blew it. "Go!"

"Alright, guess I'll go first," the tan boy said, running ahead while Lincoln took the ball with his feet.

"Ready?" The other boy asked Lincoln, who nodded. "Okay, pass it to me, and I'll take it a bit further and pass you it. You try get the ball past him, I'll get it to the cone."

"Uh… Yeah, okay." So, Lincoln passed him the ball and started to run ahead. After getting a bit further, the ball was passed back to him. Looking ahead, he saw the tan kid coming close, so he tried to get the ball around him and pass it back to the other kid, but the ball was taken away from him as he prepared to kick it, causing him to trip and fall face into the muddy ground. As he lifted his head up, his now mud-covered face was unamused. "Dang it."

**WEDNESDAY- BASKETBALL**

"Alright, here's what you're going to do," Coach Pakowski instructed, basketball in hand. "You're going to dribble the ball down the line, switching hands with each bounce, until you reach the end. When you do, you'll take a shot, like so." He then threw the ball, only for it to hit the backboard and bounce away, causing him to grumble to himself as he jogged over to fetch the ball whilst the waiting kids chuckled amongst themselves. "Okay, like that, but try and get it in the hoop. After you've taken your shot, retrieve the ball and pass it to who's next in the line, and run to the back. If you miss, you do ten sit ups. Got it?" He passed the ball to the girl at the front of the line and blew his whistle. "Go!"

As the first person ran the drill, Lincoln watched, trying to see what to do. 'Alright, maybe this won't be so bad,' he thought to himself. 'I definitely won't end up with a face full of mud, so that's one upside, and I think being inside is better.' As he reached the front of the line, he took a deep breath to prepare himself. 'Alright, here we go.' He saw the kid at the other end throw the ball his way, so he held out his hands and caught it.

"Loud! Go!" Pakowski instructed, which Lincoln obliged. Everyone watched as the white-haired child began to dribble the ball at a decent pace, switching hands each time the ball bounced while keeping along the line. It didn't take him long before he was a good enough distance away from the net. "Take the shot!" Lincoln took hold of the ball in both hands, stopped his jog and shot for the net… only for the ball to hit the rim of the hoop and ricochet back, smacking him straight in the face and knocking him straight on his butt. As he rubbed his nose from the impact, he heard everyone laughing and blushed. "Alright, walk it off, Loud. Pass the ball back and do your sit-ups."

Lincoln got to his feet and jogged over to the ball, then picked it up and threw it to the line. Unfortunately for him, it hit one of the other kids in the head, causing them to fall backwards, miraculously and comedically setting off a domino effect. Wincing, he jogged away, and as he felt everyone's glares directed his way, he couldn't help but think, 'yep. This did turn out as bad.'

**THURSDAY- RACQUETBALL**

As Lincoln grabbed one of the rackets and a ball, he looked around and saw that Coach Pakowski was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, he recognised one of the other kids- a boy with dark skin and dark brown hair- so he walked over to him. "Hey," he said, getting the boy's attention, "where's Coach Pakowski?"

"You didn't hear?" The boy responded. "He hit his head during gym class, he's in the nurses office."

"So… if he's not going to be leading this, who is?"

"Okay, everyone!" They heard a familiar voice call. Turning in the direction the voice came from, their jaws dropped.

"Bah… bah… bah…"

Entering the gym hall was none other than the substitute teacher, Ms Dimartino. The beautiful tan skinned, dark haired woman was wearing the same red shirt and white shorts she wore whenever she covered for Coach Pakowski. "It's nice to see you're all ready to play!" She said. "In that case, we'll warm up with a game. I'll stand on one half of the court, and everyone else line up on the other side. I'll serve, and you hit it back, then run to the back of the queue. Let's see how long we can keep a rally going."

After everyone was in line, with Lincoln near the back, she blew the whistle. As she served the ball and hit it back and forth against the wall with the other students, Lincoln's crush on the sub meant that he struggled to take his eyes off her as her hair swayed back and forth with each swing of her racket. It wasn't until someone nudged him back that he realised the line had noticeably shortened. Tightening his grip on the racket, he watched as Ms Dimartino hit the ball so that it bounced against the wall, waited for the right moment, and hit the ball back into the wall.

Unfortunately for the white-haired boy, the angle that he hit the ball at meant that after hitting the wall, it hit him back in the face, square on the nose. After the initial impact, which brought a collective "Ooh" from the group, he blinked a couple of times, feeling blood pour from his nose.

"Are you alright, Lincoln?" Ms Dimartino asked out of concern.

"… dang it…" was all he could respond, before he collapsed to the floor with a thud.


	5. Ch 5- Out Of Options

Lynn Jr was sat on the couch watching her favourite team's latest game, and was getting excitable now that her team were in the lead. "GO GO GO GO GO!" She shouted, watching with wide eyes and a big grin as her favourite player made their way down the field, dodged the defensive line and managed to score for their team. Seeing this, Lynn practically bounced on the couch, though still careful not to hurt her injured leg worse than she had. "YES! WE'RE NUMBER ONE! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!" As the players and fans celebrated on screen, Lynn heard the front door open and saw her mother come in, followed by her brother. "Hey, Link! How was racquet-" She stopped herself and winced when she saw the bruising on her brother's nose, as well as the bloody tissue he held to it. "Ooh… I guess not that well?"

He nodded to her. "Never again," was all he told her, before he made his way upstairs. Lynn watched him walk up the stairs, then turned to her mother when she sighed.

"I wish he could find something he enjoyed," she muttered to herself.

"Don't sweat it, mom," the thirteen-year-old assured her mother. "Give it time, he'll find something."

The blonde matriarch smiled at her daughter. "I know, honey. I can't help but worry, though, I'm a mom. Plus, he'll be a teenager soon, and with puberty, he'll need something to keep him active."

"Yeah, that's fair. Still, I think he might be able to try for some of my teams, or my coach might be able to recommend something. I'll keep asking around."

"Thanks, honey. Guess I'll go see if your father needs any help with dinner."

While her mother walked away to the kitchen, Lynn grabbed her crutches and got to her feet. 'Think I'll see if Lincoln's alright,' she thought, making her way up the stairs. After reaching the top, she turned and walked down the landing towards the open door. Walking in, she saw her brother laying on his bed, eyes shut. "Hey, Stinkoln. You asleep?"

He opened his eyes and gave her an unamused look. "No, just thinking. And do you have to call me that?"

"Ah, relax, I'm just messing with ya. So," she sat down on the bed by his legs, prompting him to sit up, "how's your shiner?"

"Sore, but the bleeding stopped."

"Ah, you'll be fine. Stick a bandaid on it tomorrow, you'll be fine. So, guess you'll be looking for another sport now." He nodded. "Well, if you want, I could talk to my coach, see if he's got room for you at softball practice." The second after she said that, she regretted it, seeing how his eyes went wide and he started shaking his head, muttering "no" to himself over and over. "Ah, dang it, I forgot about that." The last time Lincoln had gone to see one of Lynn's softball games, it had led to what the family referred to- but only when they had to- as the 'bad luck incident'. Since then, Lincoln refused to have anything to do with softball, whether that meant seeing Lynn's games or helping her practice. Realising her mistake, Lynn grabbed her brother by the shoulders and shook him gently. "Hey, hey, hey, Lincoln. Lincoln, look at me." He did so, his eyes still wide. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to, I know you're uncomfortable with it. It's okay."

It took him a few second, but Lincoln eventually calmed down, his eyes returning to normal. "Yeah… you're right. Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's my bad, bro. Kinda forgot about that for a second." He waved it off to let her know it was okay, but she instantly picked up on the thoughtful look on his face. "You, uh… wanna talk about anything?"

He was hesitant to respond, but knowing what Lynn was like, he knew she wouldn't leave until he spoke about it. "… do you think, maybe… I'm just not meant to do sports?"

She blinked, caught off guard by the confession. "Where'd that come from?"

"It just seems like, whatever sport I try, something goes wrong and something doesn't work, or it just doesn't feel right. I know mom and dad really want me to try and find something that I enjoy, but… maybe there isn't something."

Lynn, despite not saying anything, understood where Lincoln was coming from. She also knew how to make him think otherwise, so she used her crutches to get to her feet. "Wait here a sec, bro." Raising an eyebrow, he curiously watched as she staggered her way out on her crutches. It didn't take long for his curiosity to win him over, convincing him to get up and walk after her. Checking in the middle room on the right, he saw the athlete checking on her desk, which was very disorganised, so it took her a moment longer before her search was successful. She grinned as she pulled her hand out of the clutter, a red book in her hand, then caught sight of her brother looking at her. "I thought I asked you to wait for me?"

"I figured this would be quicker than waiting for you to 'waddle' back in," he joked.

Lynn rolled her eyes, but still chuckled. "I'll remember that when I'm off these things." She sat down on her bed, Lincoln sitting next to her after she gestured for him to do so. "Anyway, this is what I wanted to show you." She opened it up, letting Lincoln see that it was a photo album. After a couple of moments of flicking pages, she eventually found the picture she was looking for- one of a younger Lynn, possibly seven or eight, wearing a sports jersey, with a foam finger on her hand and a big smile on her face. "This was me after my first time seeing a baseball game, which was the first sport I really got into, though it wasn't the first sport I tried."

He looked up from the picture at his sister. "It wasn't? Then, what was?"

"Well, it was volleyball. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I thought I'd give it a try. Problem was, all the other girls there were… well, they were a lot more experienced than me and they liked to pick on the fact that I was new. By the end, I was so glad to get out of there, I almost swore to never try sport again."

Lincoln's eyes widened- he found it hard to imagine that his athletic sister, who brought a new trophy home almost every week, almost stopped doing sports ever again. "Woah…"

"Yeah, I know." She looked back at the picture again. "Point is, had it not been for that game and how awesome it was, I would never have tried it for myself, and I wouldn't be who I am today." She closed the book and looked at her brother again. "Even if you don't become an athlete, that doesn't mean there isn't something you'll enjoy. Just keep trying, and if you find nothing, at least you've looked, right?"

As he considered what she said, he smiled. "Guess you're right."

"See? Now, come here." He saw her open her arms for a hug, and he prepared to embrace her, only for her to use the opportunity to pull him towards her and give him a playful noogie. "That's for the crutch joke."

* * *

The next day, Lincoln was in gym class, where everyone had just finished completing a fitness test. It was the final class before lunch, so everyone was eager for the class to end so they could get some food. "Right," Coach Pakowski called out. "I'll be honest with you, I was expecting that to last longer than it did. Since there's no point in letting you go just yet, we'll finish with a quick game of dodgeball. You know the deal- line up while I put you into teams."

The class knew not to complain, lest they wanted extra exercise to do, so they quickly lined up. Rather than alternate down the line like most people would, the gym teacher lazily split the line in half, making one half one team, and the other half the other team, meaning that Lincoln was with his friends again. "So, Lincoln, how goes the sports hunt?" Stella asked.

"Same as usual, so far," he admitted. "I've now tried track, football, soccer, basketball and racquetball. At the rate things are going, I'll have tried every sport imaginable before the month is over."

"Then why not tell your parents that you don't want to do sports?" Rusty suggested.

"If it was that simple, I wouldn't even need to have done football." They returned their mind to the dodgeball game upon hearing the whistle blow. "Scorpion formation!"

They quickly moved into position, with everyone stood in a line facing the other team, apart from Zach who was at the back and to the side. "We've got you this time, Girl Jordan," Rusty taunted.

"What makes you think this time will be any different?" Zach questioned, causing the taller redhead's ego to deflate.

"Just shut up and go with it okay?"

As soon as he said that, the whistle, and he turned around just in time to be beaned in the head by a dodgeball, knocking him to one side. Lincoln looked back and saw Girl Jordan, the smirk on the ponytailed girl's face confirming herself as the perpetrator. A couple of seconds later, Zach was taken out by another ball from another angle.

"Abandon formation!" Lincoln called out, and everyone scattered about their half of the court, doing their best to dodge the incoming rubber projectiles. Being against Girl Jordan, however, meant that this was a lot tougher than with anyone else, as the girl was inexplicably a deadshot when it came to the game, rarely missing a throw. Lincoln could only throw and pray as his team was wiped out one by one. As he ducked another throw from the ponytailed girl, he stumbled and fell to his knee. It didn't hurt, but the moment it took him to get back to his feet saw him get hit with a ball to the ribs, eliminating him and ending the game. A whistle blow signified this, causing him to sigh.

"Never mind, Lincoln," Stella told him with a smile.

"Yeah, I know."

"Alright, that's all for today," Coach Pakowski called out. "Go get changed, then head to lunch."

Everyone was quick to do so, with Stella splitting off from the guys as they went to their respective changing rooms. "So, Lincoln," Liam asked the Loud boy, "you gonna ask Coach if there's anymore sports you can try?"

"I guess," he replied. "There aren't exactly many other options."

"Ain't there anything outside of school you could try instead?"

Lincoln sighed, slipping his polo shirt over his head and getting his arms through the sleeves. "I wouldn't even know where to look. I know that there's a martial arts club, but after being Lynn's 'sparring partner' so many times… no thank you."

"Well, I don't envy you, buddy," Clyde admitted. "Still, maybe you will find something you can enjoy after all?"

"Maybe, though I'm not holding my breath." A minute later, he was fully clothed, his gym clothes packed away. "I'll see you guys at lunch." With that, he walked out of the changing room and walked across the gymnasium towards the small office, where he saw the gym teacher looking at a computer. "Coach?"

Pakowski looked up. "Ah, Loud," he greeted, "come in." Lincoln did so, leaving the door open. "So, how did you find racquetball?"

"Actually…" When Lincoln pointed at the bandaid on his nose, the gym teacher winced at the size of the bruise. "Yeah. Is there anything else I can try instead?"

With a sigh, Coach Pakowski stood up. "Sorry, Loud, but you've tried everything. The only other club is girls only, so unless you're willing to try anything again, you're gonna have to look elsewhere."

Though disheartened, Lincoln nodded out of understanding. "Well, thanks anyway, Coach."

"No problem. Now, go on for lunch."

Lincoln nodded again and walked out of the office, then let out a sigh. "What am I going to do?"

"Hey, Lincoln," he heard a voice. Turning around, he saw Girl Jordan approach, dressed in her usual yellow shirt, blue skirt, brown shoes with white socks, and blue bow in her brown braided ponytail.

"Hey, Girl Jordan," he greeted back. "Congrats on winning… again."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks. So, how come you were talking with Coach Pakowski? Apparently, you've been to see him every day this week."

"Well, my family are trying to get me into sport after the, uh… the football incident." She frowned, having heard about what happened after the final game. "I've been asking Coach what there was I could try at school, but so far, nothing's worked, and he's just told me that there isn't anything else I can try here."

"So, you need to find something else you can try instead?"

"Pretty much?"

"Well, maybe I can help."

He looked at her curiously. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, there's a taster session on Sunday. Normally, it's ten bucks, though if I remember correctly, it's free for first timers."

"That's actually perfect! Thanks!"

"No problem."

"Hey, Jordan, let's go!" They heard another girl call.

"One second, Mollie!" Jordan called back, then looked back at Lincoln. "It's at the sports centre near the north of town at three o'clock, but I usually meet with some of my friends at my house at two o'clock, so if you meet me there, we can head there together."

"Sure, I'll see you then." As Girl Jordan walked away, he felt a smile come to his face. 'Looks like I'll get the afternoon off.'


	6. Ch 6- The Weekend Arrives

**(A/N: Hey, guys. Couple of things after the last chapter. First off, a couple of people asked about this in reviews, so I'll explain here- a taster session is like a trial run. I don't know if it's a British saying or not, but it's called that because it allows someone to 'get a taste for it', if that makes sense.**

**Secondly… wow, you guys are blowing my mind. Five chapters in, over fifty reviews already! Thank you so, so, SO much! It really makes me happy that you guys have so much to say about my work, so seriously, thank you!**

**So, now that that's out of the way, please enjoy!)**

Three o'clock eventually came around, and not long after that, students were practically fleeing from the elementary school, eager to enjoy their weekend. Among them were the Loud siblings, who fortunately didn't have to wait long, as they saw Vanzilla pull up in front of the school, their older and youngest sisters sat in the rust bucket. Lori opened the driver side window and stuck her head out. "Alright, get in," she ordered. "I have a shift in an hour, so I don't have time to mess around."

The four younger Louds knew better than to waste Lori's time, so they didn't waste time getting in the van, with Lucy helping the four-year-old get in. Before the eldest could drive off, however, they heard a familiar voice call to them. "HANG ON!" The girls all watched as they saw their white-haired brother run towards the car, quickly getting in and shutting the door. "Phew. Thought you were going to drive off without me."

"And I thought you quit track, brah," Luna joked. "You were like a bat out of hell!"

"I thought you were supposed to be staying late again?" Lori asked, looking at him through the mirror. "You know, trying new sports or whatever?"

"Coach told me I tried everything, so nothing I could do."

She rolled her eyes. "If that's what you're going to tell mom and dad, I literally couldn't care."

The blonde then began to drive off, the rest of the Loud siblings doing their own thing as the van drove along towards home. After about a minute, Lynn leaned forward to talk to her brother, who was sat in front of her. "So, bro, since Pakowski's got nothing for you, how do you fancy trying your hands at roller derby?" She offered. "It's normally all girls, but they said they wouldn't mind having you try it out."

"Thanks, but that's okay," he replied. "I actually have something. A friend of mine told me about something that I can try this Sunday."

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Lincoln opened his mouth to answer, but as he then realised something, he smiled and began chuckling to himself, much to the confusion of Lynn and a couple of the other sisters listening in. "What, what's so funny?"

"It's just… I've only just realised that she didn't actually tell me _what_ the session was." He chuckled again for a few seconds, until he realised that most of his sisters were looking at him now, save for Lori, whose eyes were on the road, though she was definitely listening. "What?"

"Who's _she, _Linky?" Lola teased. It only took a second for Lincoln to realise what she was referring to, and groan upon doing so.

"Really? That's what you're asking me? I admit that I don't know what I'll be doing, but _that's_ what you pick up on?" He rolled his eyes upon seeing them nod eagerly. "Fine. It's Girl Jordan, alright?" They all opened their mouths to say something, but he beat them to it. "And no, I do not have a crush on her. She is a friend at most, and that is that. Are we clear?"

"But, Linky, you two would be so cute together!" Leni pleaded. "And she has _such _good fashion sense." Everyone then turned their attention to the fashionista, curious about the second point she made. "Its true. Her and her older sister are, like, totally my favourite customers." She looked back at her brother. "Seriously, though, you should totes ask her out."

"I don't care! Friend- that's it. Capiche?" They all agreed, though their faces showed that they didn't believe him. He groaned again, putting a hand to his forehead. "Sisters…"

* * *

After a carefree Friday and a mostly uneventful Saturday, Sunday came around. After a quiet lunch with his family, Lincoln packed his gym clothes into his bag, grabbed a bottle of water, and was ready to be headed on his way. He walked into the kitchen, where his mother was finishing the dishes from lunch. "Hey, mom?" He called, getting her attention. "I'm heading to practice."

"Alright, honey," she told him with an encouraging smile. Her son had explained everything to her and her husband yesterday, and though she would have liked to know more about it, they were willing to let him try it out. "Try and have fun, okay?"

"Will do." After that, he went out the front door. Girl Jordan's house wasn't too far from his own, and his sisters all had their own thing going on that day, so they wouldn't pay too much attention to what he was up to, which meant he didn't have any need to rush. As he walked along, he felt the cool air breeze past him while the sun was shining down from the clear skies. Every so often, he took a deep breath, feeling oddly alive. He arrived at the house about five minutes before two o'clock, walking up to the door of the white walled, red roofed house, and rang the bell. It wasn't long before the door was opened and he saw Girl Jordan, who smiled upon seeing him. "Hey, Lincoln," she greeted. "Come on in."

"Thanks," he replied, accepting her offer. While she shut the door, he walked into the living room, and couldn't help but be in awe. "I never knew your house was so cool!"

It was no secret that Girl Jordan's family was one of the more well off families in Royal Woods, especially since they were the only family Lincoln knew that had their own pool, though this was the first time he had seen it from the inside. While it wasn't exactly posh or lavish, it was well decorated, with a landscape painting over the fireplace on one wall, a large flatscreen TV on the other facing the black couch, with a couple of good quality speakers either side of it, and a Blu-Ray player on the cabinet beneath it, which probably contained a decent selection of Blu-Ray DVDs. At the far wall was the glass door which led to the back garden, as well as the pool.

"You get used to it," was all she said on that matter. "So, I'll be honest. I'm a little surprised you showed up."

"Well, my parents were curious about what I would be doing, but they were just glad I'd be trying something. So, since I kinda forgot to ask on Friday, what is the session for?"

"Didn't I tell you?" He shook his head. "Huh. Weird. Well, it's-" She was interrupted by the doorbell ringing again. "I'll get it!" She called as she walked off to answer the door. It didn't take long for her to return with four girls, who Lincoln knew hung out with Jordan- one was a fair skinned girl with long, raven hair, wearing a red shirt under a darker red jacket, a black skirt with grey polka dots and red shoes with white socks; one was a fair-skinned girl with long, brown hair, wearing a pink turtleneck, blue jeans and white sneakers; one was a dark skinned girl with black hair held in pigtails, wearing a lavender long sleeved shirt, a purple necktie, a dark purple skirt, and purple shoes with lavender socks; and the other was Mollie, a fair skinned girl with short, brown hair, wearing a pink shirt under a purple blazer, a red skirt with purple stockings, and brown boots. Lincoln knew Mollie better than the others, because of their 'cannonball rivalry'.

Upon seeing the white-haired boy, Mollie smirked. "Well, well!" She said. "I didn't believe her, but Jordan wasn't lying! What's up, Girl Guru?"

Lincoln threw his head back and groaned, the girls giggling at his embarrassment. "Really? How much longer before that gets forgotten?"

"Given how stupid it was," Joy, the dark skinned girl, answered, "probably never."

Girl Jordan simply shook her head. "Girls, lay off him," she requested. "Let's not make him regret trying this before he actually tries it."

"Yeah, speaking of that," Lincoln interjected, "are you planning to tell me what it is?"

"Well, it's-" Jordan was cut off again, this time by Kat, the girl with long black hair, pulling her to one side, with the rest of the girls forming a huddle with them. Lincoln couldn't tell what was being said due to the volume of their whispers, but when they turned back to him with smirks on their faces, he had a feeling there was a certain level of mischief behind their motives. "Actually, why don't we just show you when we get there?"

Knowing he wasn't going to get anything else out of them, he sighed. "Sure, I guess. So, uh, when do we leave?"

"Yeah, since we're all here now, we can go if you want." She walked over to the couch and picked up a bag, which he assumed had her change of clothes in- much like how the other girls' bags probably had their change of clothes- and led her friends towards the door. "Mom! We're heading out!"

"Okay!" They heard a woman call from upstairs. "Have fun!"

So, after Jordan shut the door on their way out, the six of them began walking. "So, Girl Jordan," Lincoln asked, "how long have you been doing… whatever this is?"

"I've been doing it for about six months," she replied. "Joy has been doing it for longer than the rest of us, though."

"Yeah, I've been doing it for just short of a year. A couple of months later, I got Sadie and Kat to try it out, and then a few months after that, we convinced Jordan and Mollie to try. Artie's been doing it longer than me, though."

"Wait, Artie does this too?"

"Yeah," Mollie told the boy, "that's how we actually got to know him." She smirked at him. "What, were you afraid that you were gonna be the only boy or something?"

His cheeks heated up a little from embarrassment. "I mean… it wasn't my main concern, but I did think about that a little, yeah. I'm mainly just kind of curious what we'll end up doing, I guess."

"Don't worry, Lincoln," Girl Jordan assured. "You and Artie will probably be the only guys our age, and I don't know if you'll be the only guys at all or not, but I still think you'll enjoy it. If it helps, the instructor's a guy."

"I'd say it doesn't, but after what happened at racquetball, it does help a bit."

"What happened at racquetball?" Sadie, the girl in the turtleneck, asked.

"Well, it was Ms Dimartino who led the practice, and…" His cheeks heated up even more. "Let's just say I got kind of distracted, and the ball hit me right on the nose. Knocked me out." He rubbed the place on his nose where the bandaid had been two days ago, the bruising no longer there. "That kind of put a damper on things for me."

"I still don't get why all the boys have a crush on her," Joy pointed out.

"Remember how you acted around your tutor, Hugh?" Jordan argued, grinning smugly as her friend began blushing.

"W-w-well… Kat acted the same way…"

It was Kat's turn to blush at that comment. "No I… didn't…"

Lincoln found himself chuckling at this. "Don't worry, all of my sisters had the same reaction when he was tutoring me. I almost wasn't able to get anything done because they kept trying to get close to him, and they ended up chasing him off. Literally."

This was how the rest of the walk went, with the six of them sharing pleasant talk. Lincoln tried from time to time to get the girls to give him clues about what they would be doing, but they refused to yield, leaving him in the dark. The only thing Girl Jordan told him was that, "it's not like the other things you've tried," which left him with more questions than answers, so he decided it was better to just wait and see. Eventually, they arrived at the sports complex- from the outside, it was a large building that took up a whole block, including the parking lot to the side of it. When they walked in through the front door, however, it appeared a lot more inviting, with sky blue walls, and a number of pictures in the walls. On either side of the opening hallway, there were trophy cabinets, with photos of teams that looked like they dated back a really long time, since they were in black and white.

"Looks like they do a bunch of different sports here," Lincoln mused to himself, though Jordan overheard it since she was right by him.

"Yeah. The ones I remember that they have are basketball, badminton, and I think they do indoor soccer too. There's a bunch of others too, but I only ever came here for this."

He turned to her. "So, are you finally going to tell me what we're doing?"

She put on a big smile and tapped at her chin, teasingly pretending to think, before looking at him and saying, "nope!" He smirked, shaking his head lightly, causing her to giggle. "Well, it's not far now, so why tell you when you can see for yourself?"

"That's fair. So, which way is it?" She walked side by side with him, the others right behind them as Girl Jordan led him through one of the corridors towards a set of double doors. She gestured that it was right ahead, so he walked ahead a little bit, and when he pushed through those doors and saw what was on the other side, his eyes went wide, seeing something he never would have expected. "Oh, my!"


	7. Ch 7- Taster Session

As Lincoln looked around, he saw a variety of different apparatus- some that he recognised from gym classes over the years, and some that he wasn't as familiar. Nearest to the door was a large, square section, which when he walked onto it, he realised that it was some sort of foam. Nearer to the right wall, he saw two runways that led up to small, square, angled trampolines, with crash mats after the trampolines, and a vault after one of them. On the other side were two more runways, which appeared to be made of the same foam foam as the big square, and had crash mats after them. Further away from the square floor, he saw a number of different beams and bars, as well as some rings that hung from cables, plus another pair of runways leading to a foam pit.

"Like what you see, Lincoln?" Jordan asked, snapping Lincoln out of his gaze. When he turned to her, he noticed that the others were heading off, probably to get changed.

"So… this is gymnastics, right?" He asked, to which she nodded.

"Still wanting to give it a go? You look a little… uncertain."

He shook his head. "That's just based on… well, everything else I've tried." He looked back at the equipment. "I'll be honest… this was probably the last thing I was expecting."

"And why's that?" Her voice suggested that she was mildly annoyed by his comment. She was only teasing him some more, but he didn't noticed and became flustered.

"N-n-not because of you, I-I meant that-" He stopped his stuttering when he noticed her trying to withhold laughter, though it eventually slipped through, and he realised that she was just messing with him. His cheeks heated up more as a result, turning away to mutter, "very funny."

She rolled her eyes at the pouting boy. "Seriously, though, what do you think? Think you might enjoy this?"

Turning back to her, he saw in her eyes that she was at least a little hopeful. "Well… I might as well give it a go, right? Sure, let's do it!"

"Awesome!" She pointed behind her to two doors. "The changing rooms are over there- girls on the left, boys on the right. When we're both changed, I'll get Chris to tell you more. He's the instructor here."

"Okay, thanks. Quick question- what was the point in not telling me that it was gymnastics?"

She smirked. "Just wanted to see how you'd react."

He stood there for a second while she jogged away to catch up with the others, then felt a smirk grace his own lips as he shook his head. 'Guess I'll go get changed too,' he thought, before doing just that. As he walked through the door that was marked as the men's locker room, he noticed that it was quite spacious, maybe fifty percent larger than the one at school, and there were plenty of lockers available to use. Since it was just him at that time, he didn't see any point in waiting around, so he simply got changed, swapping his regular clothes for a white tank top and black shorts. He sat down to take his socks off, when he heard the door open. Looking up, he saw a boy with a brown pixie cut hairstyle, wearing a red sweater with a black horizontal stripe, blue jeans and white sneakers. "Lincoln?" He asked, surprised to see the white-haired boy.

"Hey, Artie," he replied as the brown-haired boy walked to put his bag on one of the hooks.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, Girl Jordan suggested I give this a try, since my parents want me to take up a sport, so I thought, why not? Although, she didn't tell me it was gymnastics until I got here."

Artie chuckled at this. "Well, I've gotta say, it's nice to have another guy here, you know? I mean, there used to be one boy a couple of years younger than me, but I think his family moved or something. Either way, it's been just the girls and me for a few months."

"So, how many other girls are there?"

"Well, usually, there's about twelve of us who turn up, though there are a couple who come every now and then, but other than the girls in our grade, most of them are a few years younger, so we'll be the oldest ones."

"Right…"

Artie noticed the apprehension in his voice when he said that. "Don't worry about it. I imagine you'll have fun."

Lincoln smiled. "Thanks." He then saw that Artie was beginning to put on a black leotard, with red stripes on the sides. "Uh, should I be wearing a, uh… uh…"

Artie smirked. "It's a leotard. And it helps, but if you're only practicing, you don't have to. You'll be fine in what you have."

He felt relieved at this. "Okay, good. Well, Girl Jordan said I should meet her once I was changed, so I guess I'll head out there."

"Sure."

So, Lincoln walked out of the changing room and back into the gymnastics hall. He saw Girl Jordan, now dressed in a yellow sleeveless leotard with a blue diagonal stripe, and white gymnastics pants, talking to a black-haired, slightly muscular man, who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, wearing a grey skintight tank top and black tracksuit pants. Jordan saw Lincoln walking over and smiled at him.

"Lincoln, come here!" She called, alerting the man to the white-haired boy's presence. "Chris, this is my friend, Lincoln. He's here for the taster session."

"Nice to meet you, Lincoln," he said, smiling and extending a hand for Lincoln to shake, which he did. "Jordan tells me you're a first timer. What made you want to try gymnastics?"

"To be honest, Jordan didn't tell me it was gymnastics," he glanced at her and noticed that she had a smug grin on her face. "Long story short, my parents want me to get into sport, so I figured it was worth a shot."

"Well, it's always nice to see kids giving it a try, and don't worry. There'll probably be a few other newcomers giving it a try, so today is just looking at the basics of TeamGym." He noticed how the boy became confused at that. "I'll run you and everyone through it once the session gets going, so just relax for now."

"Thanks." Chris nodded, then walked away, leaving the two sixth graders to themselves. "So, how many kinds of gymnastics do they do here?"

"There's artistic and TeamGym," she explained, "which use apparatus. The other kind is rhythmic, but I don't do that. Not a fan of ribbon dancing and batons, to be honest."

"You say that to my sister Lola and she would not be happy, to say the least."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You say that like I know which one she is."

They both shared a laugh at this, before Jordan saw her friends coming over, now fully dressed in their own gymnastic attires- Mollie wore a dark purple, sleeveless leotard with black gymnastic pants; Joy wore a purple short-sleeved leotard with a pink vertical stripe down the middle; Kat wore a red sleeveless leotard with white gymnastics pants; and Sadie wore a pink long-sleeved leotard with a lighter pink gymnastics pants and white gymnastics slippers.

"So, what are you two chatting about?" Mollie asked with a bemused grin, the other girls giggling.

"Oh, nothing," was all Jordan replied with, leaving a confused Lincoln to just shrug it off.

'Here we go again, I guess.'

* * *

"Welcome, everyone!" Chris greeted, now that the session had begun. Like Artie had told Lincoln earlier, most of the kids that turned up were at least a couple of years younger, the only ones his age being Girl Jordan, her friends and Artie, and the younger ones had their parents watching. He also noticed that he and Artie did end up being the only boys, though he wasn't too bothered by any of this. "I'm Chris, and I'm the instructor here. Now, we're going to have fun today as I show you some of the basics of TeamGym, but at the same time, we need to be safe, as injuries can happen. Therefore, you need to listen to what I have to say and pay attention, okay?" After everyone either nodded or replied to show they understood, he smiled. "Good. Alright, let's start by warming up, then we'll do some stretching, and then we'll get started. Everyone, up on your feet."

So, over the next few minutes, Chris led everyone in a quick warm up to get everyone's blood pumping, followed by some stretches to try and make sure that no one pulled a muscle later. "Alright, now that we're warmed up, I'm going to introduce you to the three disciplines of TeamGym." He stepped back onto the large square section of the floor. "The first one is the floor. Everyone learns a choreographed routine with a combination of elements, which focuses on keeping in sync with your team." He led everyone to the two tracks on the right. "Over here is the trampette. This works by running along the track, bouncing off the trampoline at the end, and performing a somersault. For some runs, you propel yourself using the vault horse, other runs, you just land on the mat. This comes down to precision, in rotating and in landing." He then walked over to the left of the floor, toward the other tracks. "On this side is the tumbling tracks. Like the trampette, you run along the track, only this time, you do a series of acrobatics as you go along it, with your last one landing on the crash mat at the end. Again, the focus of this is precision, not only with landing each twist and flip, but keeping straight along the track." He saw one of the younger girls, possibly eight years old, raise her hand. "Yes?"

"Which discipline is the best?" She asked, prompting the instructor to chuckle.

"Well, there isn't one that's better than the others. Some tend to better at one discipline while others tend to do better at another, but each discipline can be just as important, and just as fun." He then turned to another of the younger girls who raised her hand. "Yes."

"Which discipline will we try first?"

"That's a good question. First, we're going to try the trampette so I can show you how to fall properly- that way, when we try it properly, you won't get hurt. Then, we'll do the same with the tumbling track. We won't practice the floor today, since we usually spend a whole session doing that due to the choreography, but some of our more experienced members will show an example routine. Sound good?" Again, everyone nodded. "Alright, let's get started!"

The group walked back over to the trampette, this time going up to the trampolines themselves. "Now, the best performances end with someone landing on their feet, but when you're a beginner, it's easy to land on your front or your back instead. To reduce impact, spread your arms out with your palms flat. Watch me." He took a small run up, leapt on one of the trampolines and landed on the vault horse, then fell forward with his arms out wide. While a couple of the newcomers gasped, those who had been before knew he was okay, and sure enough, he got straight back up. "You see? By doing that, it reduces the impact. Now, let's all give it a go." He scanned the group, then settled on Lincoln. "Why don't you go first, Lincoln?"

"Me? Uh… yeah, I can go first," he replied.

"There we go!" Lincoln walked onto the track. "Now, take a little bit of a run up, steady yourself on the horse and fall forward." Lincoln nodded. After taking a deep breath, he ran towards the trampoline, jumped onto it and sprung up to the vault horse. His right foot initially slipped, but he recovered. As he prepared to fall forward, he realised how high up he was now, and felt a bit nervous. "You okay, buddy?"

"Y-Yeah…"

Girl Jordan noticed his nerves. "Lincoln, it's okay!" She told him. "Don't worry about the height, you'll be okay!"

He looked at her and felt reassured by the look she gave him, so he nodded back to her, before facing forward again. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he counted down in his head. 'Three… two… one…'

With that, he fell forward, with his arms out wide. A second later, he felt himself hit the mat, but opened his eyes when he realised that it didn't hurt after all, and quickly got to his feet. "There we go, Lincoln!" Chris commenced, giving him some applause which was matched by the others, making him smile as he got off the mat. "Now, the height can be scary for the first time, but with practice, you'll get used to it."

While Chris decided who would go next, Lincoln turned to Jordan. "Hey, thanks for that," he told her.

"No worries," she replied. "I was like that when I first tried it out, so it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Still, it made me feel more comfortable, and I appreciate it."

Her smile seemed to perk up when he said that. "Aww… thanks, Lincoln."

He simply smiled back, before the two returned their focus on what was being shown before them.


	8. Ch 8- Verdict

After a good two hours, the session was coming to a close. After learning how to fall, the group was instructed on, and allowed to practice, how to do a simple jump and a turning jump on the trampette ad a couple more basic skills, followed by how to complete a tumble run with some basic tumbles, and were currently watching a demonstration of a floor routine. While it was by no means complex, it was still a good routine, and Lincoln found himself impressed by the coordination shown by Girl Jordan and her friends. As they finished the routine, Chris began applauding them, those who were watching doing the same as they gave a bow. "Thank you, all of you," he commended as they sat down with the others, then turned to face the group. "Okay, guys, that's all we have time for today. You all did good today, and I hope you had fun. If you or your parents want to know more about practice, then by all means, you can come speak to me, as I'll be by the reception. Thanks again for coming, and have a good day."

With that, everyone began to walk away- the younger kids eagerly walked over to their parents to tell them about what they did, even though most of them already knew from having watched, while the sixth graders all began walking towards the changing rooms. Girl Jordan, before she reached the changing room, told her friends that she would catch up, before walking over to the white-haired boy. "So, Lincoln," she spoke, her voice giving away her eagerness, "what did you think?"

"I thought you were great!" he replied. "It's clear that you're very good this, especially from that routine!"

She giggled, putting a hand to her mouth. "That's very sweet of you… but I meant what did you think of gymnastics, not me."

Her giggles only grew as his dumbfounded expression came upon realising his mistake, his palm gently striking his forehead and his cheeks reddening. "Right, should have realised that."

"Well? What _did_ you think?"

"Well… I'll be honest, I was uncertain at the start. Probably because of how everything else went this week." He could see the glimmer in her eyes fade a little when he said that. "Though, now I've given it a go and seen what it's like…" His lips curled upwards at the sides. "I think I wanna do it again."

The glimmer in her eyes returned as she smiled giddily. "That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!"

"Yeah, it's really cool! I think it's something I'd like to get good at!"

"Well, I think you will. And hey, I can help you along the way if you need it."

He nodded. "I would appreciate that, actually."

"Then consider it done. So, are your parents coming to pick you up?"

"Actually, I was going to walk back."

"Well, if you like, you can get a lift back with me. I'm sure my mom won't mind."

"Really?" She nodded eagerly. "Well… sure, okay. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll meet you out here when I've got changed."

"Okay. Guess I'll speak to Chris so I know what to tell my parents." She nodded to him, then walked off to go get changed. Lincoln, meanwhile, went into the mens' changing room to collect his stuff, then walked back out and made his way to the reception. When he got there, he saw that Chris had just finished speaking with one of the parents, so when they walked away, he walked up to the instructor. "Excuse me, Chris?"

The instructor looked down and smiled at the boy. "Hey, Lincoln," he greeted, "what can I do for you?"

"Well, I really enjoyed today and think I would like to do this more regularly, but I was wondering if you could tell me more so I know what to tell my parents when I get home."

"Absolutely! Anything for someone looking to engage in a new hobby. Wait here one second." He walked over to the reception desk and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. Lincoln watched as he began writing something down, then turn around and walk back to the Loud boy. "Here you go. Everything you need to know should be on here. If there are any more questions your parents have, they can email me. I've put my email at the bottom."

He then handed the boy the note, which Lincoln accepted and put in his pocket. "Thank you."

"No worries. I look forward to seeing you again." He leaned toward the boy after checking the coast was clear. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm kind of glad another guy is doing this." As both men began chuckling at the half-joke, a thought came to Lincoln's head: 'I think I'm going to enjoy coming here.'

* * *

It didn't take long for Girl Jordan to finish getting changed, and after she and Lincoln said goodbye to her friends, they got in her mother's car, and began driving away. Jordan's mother was fairly similar in appearance to her daughter: while it was obvious that she was older, they both had the same hair colour, both had their hair in ponytails (though only Jordan's was braided), and it seemed clear to the boy that Jordan got her eyes from her mother. The woman's dress sense, however, was more similar to his own mother's, with brown trousers and a yellow button up shirt.

As she drove along the road and came to a stop due to some traffic lights, she turned around to look at the two kids, smiling upon seeing them happily talking to each other. "You okay there, Lincoln?" She asked.

"Yes, Mrs Rosato," he responded.

"Well, we're only a couple of minutes away from your house. So, forgive me if I'm prying, but what made you want to try gymnastics?"

"Well… the long story is a little complicated, and there's some parts of it I don't like thinking about, so the short version is that my parents wanted me to do more exercise, and Girl Jordan recommended it."

While the woman was a little perplexed by him calling her daughter 'Girl Jordan', she didn't pay it much mind as she returned to driving once the light turned green. "Well, it's nice to see other boys giving it a try. I know more than a few of my husband's friends who would've laughed at the idea, but it's really just silly, if you ask me. Especially if it's something you enjoy, and based on that smile on your face, I'm guessing that you do."

He felt his cheeks heat up as he nodded, to the amusement of the girl sat next to him. "So, Lincoln, since the next practice is Tuesday, do you want to walk with me and the girls again?" She asked.

"Sure. That sounds great." Her smile widened in response. As he felt the vehicle, he saw that the car had pulled up in front of his house, so he undid his seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs Rosato."

"You're welcome. And, hey- if your parents don't mind, I'd be happy to give you a lift back any time."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! Your mother is my dentist, and from what I remember, you have a lot of siblings, so I completely understand if they're occasionally too busy."

"Thanks. I'll ask them."

He opened the door to get out, but felt a tap on his shoulder. "Hey, Lincoln?" Jordan asked. "I was wondering if you would want to sit with me and the others at lunch?"

He smiled at her. "Sure, that sounds great! Thanks again, for everything."

She laughed. "You don't have to keep thanking me, Lincoln. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the thought, but it really isn't that big of a deal."

"Well, it is to me. I really do appreciate this."

She couldn't help but find it adorable that he said that. "Aww… well, you're welcome, Lincoln."

"So, guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Okay! See you tomorrow!"

He got out of the car, shut the door behind him, and waved to her as the car drove away. Once they were far away, he turned around and walked up to the front door. When he walked inside, he saw that the rest of his siblings were all sat on the couch, watching TV. As he shut the door, Lynn turned her head in his direction and smiled. "Hey, bro!" She said, alerting the others to his presence. "Good timing! Dream Boat's on in ten."

"Oh, great! I'll be back soon, I'm gonna go take a shower first."

He turned to go to the stairs, but stopped when his sister called to him. "Hang on, twerp," Lori spoke. "How was it? You seem quite happy this time." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Or is that just because you got to hang out with Girl Jordan?"

The rest of her sisters' expressions mirrored hers, causing Lincoln to groan. "Really? This again? Seriously, she's just a friend. I didn't even hung out with her that much before."

"Though, I'm sure you'll be seeing her a lot more," Luan chimed in. "After all, you told us it was her who Jorded you into it." As was the norm, her laugh and "get it" were met with groans from everyone else, as well as a head shake from the boy.

"Whatever. I'm going for a shower." He ignored the titterings of his sisters as he walked upstairs, first depositing his gym bag in his room and removing his spare clothes from it, while also placing the note from his pocket on the desk, then heading into the bathroom. He locked the door and dumped his now sweaty clothes in the laundry hamper, before getting in the shower. As the running water fell on his skin, he felt at ease. "Ah, that's better…" So, he began to clean himself, taking no more than five minutes to be finished, but still felt himself relaxing as he did. Once he was done, he turned off the shower, got out, began to dry himself off and walked across the landing to his room. Since he'd put his usual clothes in the laundry, he figured his parents wouldn't mind if he put on his pyjamas now. So, he placed his towel in his hamper, got dressed and prepared to head back downstairs, but something stopped him- he remembered that the note Chris had written from him was on his desk. 'Better give that to mom and dad,' he thought. As he grabbed the note, however, his mind flashed back to something Mrs Rosato had said:

"_I know more than a few of my husband's friends who would have laughed at the idea."_

This made his eyes widen a bit. 'Wait… what if my dad doesn't like that this is what I was doing?' He considered. 'And what about my sisters?! I know that the others seemed okay with me trying gymnastics, and my parents want me to do more exercise, but…' His mind flashed back to times where he had tried to get his sisters into his hobbies, and they had laughed at him or shrugged him off. He then remembered the numerous times that he had been laughed at for cosplaying Ace Savvy, and became worried hat the same would happen here. 'What if they're like that with this? I don't want that to happen, but what can I do about it?' He looked at the letter again. 'Hmm…'

Rita walked into the room, and saw the girls watching TV, the opening sequence for Dream Boat appearing on the screen. "Girls, has Lincoln come back yet?" She asked.

"Our sole male sibling made his return to the abode approximately six hundred and thirty seven seconds prior to your question," Lisa explained.

"Uh…"

"She means he got back ten minutes ago, mom," Luna clarified.

"Oh! That was quicker than I was expecting!" At that moment, she heard footsteps from upstairs, and turned to see the boy in question coming downstairs. "I thought you said you were walking home."

"I was originally going to, but Girl Jordan's mom offered to drive me here."

"And I'm sure you just leapt at the chance to sit next to your _friend_, didn't you, Linky?" Lola teased, which led to soft giggles from the sisters.

Lincoln merely rolled his eyes at them. "So, honey," his mother began to ask, "how was it?"

"Actually, I really enjoyed it!" He could tell that his mother was pleased by the answer, her smile growing. "I think I'd like to do it more often."

"That's great, honey! What sport is it?"

"Oh, it's dodgeball."

Hearing this, Lynn turned around in her seat. "Dodgeball? I didn't know the school _did_ dodgeball."

This caught everyone's attention, prompting Lori to pause the TV as they all turned to him. "Well, it wasn't actually at the school. It was at the sport centre." He then held out the note to his mother. "Chris, the instructor, gave me this to give you." She looked over the note, and as she did so, Lincoln held a straight face as best he could- before he came down, he rewrote the note word for word on another sheet of paper, then made the other illegible before throwing it away, so he was hoping Rita didn't realise it was his writing. "So, can I do it?"

"Well… are you sure there isn't anything at school you'd rather do?"

He frowned when she said this. "I'm certain. I know it might be a lot to ask- Mrs Rosato even offered to drive me home after sessions- but I think I would continue to enjoy this."

She prepared to speak again, but when she saw how Lincoln seemed to be pleading with his eyes, she had a change of heart. "I'll speak with your father. Wait here."

Lincoln watched as she walked away, his face showing his loss in hope. Lynn, seeing her brother's despair, felt bad for him. She turned to Luna, who was sat next to her on the couch. "Save my seat, Luna," she told the rocker. "I'm just grabbing a soda."

"Sure, brah," she replied.

"Cheers." She grabbed her crutches and got up, walking into the kitchen, where she saw her parents talking with their backs turned to her while Lynn Sr was cooking.

"We'd need to check our budget plan," he told his wife. "It's quite a lot."

"I know, honey, but he seemed really excited about it," she argued. "We pushed so hard for him to do more exercise, and now he's found a way that he actually wants to do, I don't want to break his heart."

"I hear you… I'm just worried about the cost of it, you know? We stretch our budget thin as is."

Lynn Jr didn't like what she was hearing, so she decided to speak up. "Hey, uh, guys?" She said, walking over to the fridge.

Turning to look at his daughter, Lynn Sr replied, "what's up, LJ?"

"I was just grabbing a soda, but I… heard what you were saying." He opened his mouth to say something, but she decided to speak first. "I know I'm probably not aware of how much everything costs and all, but I really think you should let him try this. I could tell he wanted to, and it made me think of how eager I was to start trying baseball. The other night, he said he was worried that he wouldn't find a sport he liked, and that he would disappoint you, so I can tell he means it."

Lynn Sr and Rita looked at each other, considering their fifth oldest's words, then looked back. "I appreciate you saying that," Rita told her. "Now, I think your sisters are waiting for you so they can continue their show."

"Okay."

Once Lynn has grabbed her soda and walked back to the living room, Rita turned to her husband. "You see? Even his sisters see how much he wants this. If needs be, I'll see if Dr Feinstein can give me a raise, or a couple of extra hours."

He sighed. "Alright. He can do it. Better let him know so he doesn't think we hate him."

She jokingly rolled her eyes, then kissed him on the cheek. "Okay, honey." She walked back through to the living room, where Lincoln almost expectantly looked in her direction the second she stepped in. "Alright, Lincoln. I spoke to your father, and we've decide that you can do dodgeball."

His face lit up with a huge smile, and he practically leapt off the arm of the sofa to give her a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Rita smiled more and returned the hug. "You're welcome, Lincoln." Once he let go, she adopted a serious expression. "Now, as long as you're doing this, you might not get any new games for a while, alright? If you want anything like that, you may have to make the money yourself. And if at any point you decide you want to stop, tell us immediately. Is that clear?" He didn't even hesitate to nod, making her smile once again. "Good to hear."

With that, she went back into the kitchen, while Lincoln sat back down on the arm of the sofa. "Okay, can we start the show now?" Lori asked, then waited for any response, but none came. "Good."

As Lori restarted the show, Lynn looked at her brother's joyful face and smiled, glad to know he was happy, and that he found a sport that he actually enjoyed.


	9. Ch 9- It's A New Day, Yes It Is

The sun rose again the next morning, light finding its way through the window and falling on the face of the white-haired boy, waking him from his slumber. While most mornings, this would be met with him turning over and attempting to get a few more minutes of shuteye, Lincoln instead smiled and sat up. His eyes weakly opened and he stretched his arms out wide as a loud yawn escaped his lips. He looked over at his clock and saw that he had almost ten minutes before his alarm was set to go off, so he decided to use the bathroom now while his sisters were still asleep. He grabbed a towel and opened the door, and his eyes quickly saw the door right of his open, the six-year-old pageant queen walking out. When she saw Lincoln, her eyes narrowed.

'It's gonna be like that, is it?' He thought, their eyes narrowing at each other. 'Alright, Lola. Let's do this.'

They stared each other off for a few moments, before Lola tried to dash for the bathroom. Lincoln immediately took off as well, using his longer legs to leap over the self-professed princess, who gasped as she watched him get ahead of her, and try as she might, she couldn't stop him from reaching the bathroom first, sending a cheeky grin her way before he shut the door and locked it. After the initial shock, she got angry and started banging on the door. "LINCOLN! GET OUT HERE, NOOOOOW!"

He merely began whistling to himself, zoning out her yells and the complaints of any sister who was woken up by her tirade as he got unchanged and used the shower. As he began to wash himself in preparation of the day ahead, he couldn't help but smile as he thought back to the day before, and everything that transpired. 'I never would have expected to enjoy that, but I did,' he thought to himself. 'I know my family won't be happy if they find out I lied about what I was doing, but I kind of want to see where this goes before that happens.' His smile faltered. 'I don't even know how they'll react… they might laugh…' He shook his head, shaking the water from his hair around a bit, and perked his smile up. 'Nope. I'm not gonna let those thoughts get to me. I'm going to enjoy this.'

After a few minutes, having finished in the shower, he turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He left the bathroom, walking past Lola, whose angry mutters caused him to chuckle, and the quickly growing line of his sisters as he made is way to his room. He dried himself off, placed the towel in the hamper, got changed, and made his way downstairs. He walked into the kitchen, where he saw his father preparing breakfast. "Morning, dad!"

"Hey, champ!" He greeted back, frying some bacon in a pan. "Breakfast will be done in about five minutes."

"Do you want some help?"

"Sure, go ahead! I could use a hand monitoring the eggs!"

"Sure thing, dad."

"Thanks, kiddo!" Lincoln stood next to his father and began to watch the eggs. "Heaven knows how your sisters react if I get their egg wrong- I mean, it wouldn't be so hard, but how do ten girls like their eggs nine different ways?!"

Lincoln chuckled, stirring some scrambled eggs. "In this family, it seems about right."

Lynn chuckled back. "I guess. So, champ, you're in high spirits this morning."

"Yeah, I guess I am. I dunno, I just slept really well after yesterday."

Lynn's smile grew at his son's words. "Wow, sounds like that dodgeball practice really left an impact on you!" He then smirked and nudged him with his elbow. "Hopefully not the ball, though, huh, son?"

Lincoln nervously chuckled. "Yeah… good one, dad."

"Well, I'm glad to see you're taking to it. I know your mother and I might have pushed you to try and find something, and I know you weren't initially up for it, but it sounds like this could be good for you, especially if it's something you find out that you love." He looked around suspiciously, as if checking that no one was close by, before whispering to his son, "don't tell your mother I told you this or she'll kill me, but it was mostly her idea." This caused Lincoln to laugh heartily, bringing an even bigger smile to the Loud patriarch's face. "Either way, son, I'm proud of you for giving something new a try. Same goes for all the other sports- even if it turns out that they weren't for you, you still gave them a try, and that's probably one of the keys to life. If you don't try things, then you never find out if you'll enjoy them or not."

"I guess." He took the pan off the heat once the eggs were done. "Think these are all good here."

Lynn looked at the pan and nodded. "Yep. Give me a second while I plate this up."

As he did so, Lincoln decided to ask, "dad? My… dodgeball… do you think it's too expensive?"

Lynn paused for a moment, before looking over his shoulder. "Well… I'll be honest, I was uncertain when I first saw the figure, though after checking our budget plan, it seems I might have been a bit hasty. One reason we originally wanted you to try one of the school sports practices was because they were free, so it wouldn't have even been a question. Plus, now that I have my own restaurant, things are starting to get easier but not by much."

Lincoln looked down at his feet. "I see…"

The father of eleven frowned at this, setting the pans back down so he could put a hand on the white-haired child's shoulder. "Hey, Lincoln, look at me." Once his son obliged, he continued. "If this is something that makes you happy, and you want to at least try it out, then that's our top priority. You don't need to worry about the price of it. We can make it work."

"Are you sure?" His father nodded, eliciting a smile from the boy. "Okay. Thanks, dad."

* * *

For the rest of the morning, Lincoln's energy remained high. He had a smile on his face that stuck with him, even during his least favourite lessons, and he was able to keep focused in class. Mrs Johnson has noticed this, but didn't say anything, simply thinking he was having a good day. "And so, in 1732, Georgia became the final colony of the original thirteen states, which we would now call New England," she spoke to the class, her head lifting up when they all heard the bell ring. "Alright, that's lunchtime! We'll pick up on this in tomorrow's lesson, so be sure to read the next few pages in your textbooks in preparation."

Everyone quickly noted that so they could head off for lunch. As he walked out and approached his locker, the white-haired boy was stopped by his best friend. "Hey, Clyde," he greeted, "what's up?"

"I was wondering why you had such a big grin on your face today," he replied. "You're not normally this happy unless it's new comic book day."

"Well, I happened to have a really good weekend."

Clyde raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because, if I remember correctly, you and your sisters went to the mall again on Saturday, and you were doing another sport thing on Sunday."

Lincoln remembered, having cancelled heading to Clyde's house to play video games so he could try gymnastics, and hadn't since told him what he ended up doing. "Yeah, the mall was about as fun as usual. Though, I actually had a great time yesterday. I think I've found a sport I actually enjoy."

"What is it?"

"Oh, it's, uh, dodgeball."

This raised Clyde's suspicions a bit. "The school does dodgeball practice?"

"No, it doesn't. There's a place in town that does it instead."

"Huh. Well, I bet your parents are happy about it."

"Yeah. It took a bit of convincing, since it isn't at school, but they were willing to let me do it."

"But, weren't they-"

"Hey, Lincoln," they heard a voice greet, and turned around to see Girl Jordan approach. "The others get school meals, so I'm gonna go grab us a table. You ready?"

"Sure. I'll catch up in a second." She nodded and walked away, leaving Lincoln to turn to a somewhat stunned Clyde. "Yeah, I forgot to mention. Girl Jordan asked me to sit with her at lunch. Hope that's okay."

"Yeah… that's- that's fine…" His gritted teeth and forced smile suggested otherwise, which Lincoln easily saw, causing him to sigh.

"Clyde, I thought Dr Lopez talked to you about this. You know we can't always do things the exact same way, right?"

"Yeah…" He took a moment to breathe before he replied. "You're right, you're right."

Lincoln smiled. "Cheers, buddy." So, Lincoln walked off in the direction of the canteen, which was bustling with students, all happy to relax after their morning of lessons and eat some food. Whether or not said food was good depended on what they ate, but not a single person touched the fish tacos. 'How are they still allowed to serve those? Do they WANT us to have food poisoning?' He pondered, before shaking his head. In his good mood, he prepared his own food that day, so he didn't need to get in line. Looking around, he saw Girl Jordan sat at a table, a brown paper bag in front of her, so he walked over. "Hey."

She smiled as he sat down opposite her. "Thought for a second you wouldn't join us."

"Nah, I just forgot to tell Clyde before then."

"That's fair." She turned her head to the side and saw the rest of her friends walking towards them. "Over here."

Mollie, who was at the front of the group, saw Lincoln and smirked. "What's up, Lincoln?" She greeted, sitting next to Jordan. "Didn't expect you to be joining us today."

"I invited him," Jordan explained. "Hope that's okay."

"Sure, the more, the merrier," Artie said, sitting on Lincoln's left, while the others sat in some of the other seats. "So, what did you think of gymnastics, then?"

"I actually really enjoyed it!" He admitted. "I wasn't expecting to, but it was a lot of fun."

"That's the spirit! I know it's not the most popular sport for guys, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable."

"So, what did your parents think when you told them?" Mollie asked.

"They seemed alright with it…" He nervously scratched his cheek with his index finger. "Though I might have added one teeny, tiny white lie…"

Joy gave him an unamused expression. "You told them it was something else instead of gymnastics, didn't you?" When he nodded, a few of the girls huffed. "So what _did_ you tell them it was?"

"I figured they'd believe it was dodgeball, since it was Girl Jordan who suggested I try it, and she's obscenely good at dodgeball!"

Jordan couldn't help but give a small laugh at that, but returned to a neutral expression. "Why didn't you want to tell them it was gymnastics?"

"Well… I was… worried how they would react."

Jordan opened her mouth to reply, but Artie spoke first. "I get it. I didn't tell my dad what it was right away either, claimed it was basketball. He found out a month or so later, and he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, though he came around after he saw how much I enjoyed it."

"Thanks. Though, to be honest, it's not as much my parents I'm worried about. It's my sisters."

"But, don't you think they'd be happy you found something you like?" Sadie asked.

"Wouldn't be the first time they laughed at something I like," he muttered, gaining confused expressions from the others. "Either way, I think I'd rather see how things go before I tell them the truth."

"I guess, though I can't imagine what it's like keeping a secret from ten sisters."

"Believe me, it's hard. There was one time where-" Before he could continue, he felt something hit him in the back of the head. It hurt a little, but not too much. Rubbing the spot where it hit him, he turned around and saw none other than Markus grinning at him, football under his arm. "What's the deal?!"

"Just figured I'd see if you're still as bad as football as last time," He snidely commented. "Looks like I was right."

Lincoln sighed. "Whatever."

He turned to return to eating, but Markus grabbed his shoulder. "I heard from the boys that you've given up on track. Funny, given how fast you ran from that football field before we beat the snot of you."

He let out a cocky chuckle, causing Lincoln's eyebrow to twitch. "Why don't you go back to your boys and tell them that I don't care what they have to say?!"

This only caused Markus' laughs to be more boisterous, attracting the attention of nearby tables. "You're funny, Loud! Though, I think I liked it better when you were a battered mess thanks to us."

"Leave him alone, you jerk!" Jordan burst out, glaring at the boy.

Markus was stunned for half a second, before returning to grinning. "You need her to protect you, Loud?! Ha!"

"You heard what she said," Artie challenged. "Just leave us alone." Though Markus continued to laugh, he walked away, leaving them be. "You alright, Lincoln?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Seeing that his face suggested otherwise, Jordan gave him a soft smile. "Don't listen to him," she insisted. "He's just a jerk."

He smiled at her assurance. "Thanks, Jordan. And thanks for standing up for me."

She practically beamed at him. "No problem. Now, come on. Let's eat before everything goes cold." Everyone seemed to nod at this. As Lincoln pulled his own brown paper bag out of his backpack, Jordan watched with interest as he pulled out a sandwich. "What've you got?"

"My personal favourite- PB and J with sauerkraut." The others all looked shocked or disgusted at his, causing him to roll his eyes. "Don't knock it till you try it."

"Yeah, I'll pass," Kat replied. "I mean, it just sounds like you're ruining a classic."

The others all voiced their opinion, apart from Jordan. "Can I try it?" She asked, getting an even more shocked response from the others, while Lincoln simply smiled.

"Sure." He handed her one of the two triangular sandwiches to her. She broke off a piece of it and gave it a try, and after a few seconds of chewing it, she gulped it down with an unhappy face, handing the rest back to him. "Yeah, I guess it is an acquired taste."

"Yeah, I think I'll stick to my own sandwich- you know, real food." While Lincoln tried to look annoyed as everyone shared a laugh, he couldn't help but join in as well. A couple of tables over, Lola, Lana, Lisa and Lucy- having noticed the confrontation with Markus before- couldn't help but share the same grin that they always did (though, in Lucy's case, that was barely even a smile) when they saw Lincoln with a girl.

"How much do you think he likes her?" Lola asked her sisters.

"It's so obvious!" Lana responded. "He might as well be carrying a sign that says so!"

"I disagree," Lucy argued. "I get the feeling that his feelings for her is new." Her smile grew, just a little bit. "Though, knowing Lincoln, it'll become more obvious soon."

"Regardless," Lisa interjected, "our sole male sibling has developed feelings towards his classmate. I find it unlikely that he'll divulge that information to her, given his likely lack of understanding of them," her grin grew, "but that's why he has us."


	10. Ch 10- First Apparatus Practice

**(A/N: little disclaimer that I probably should've mentioned before: I don't really know that much about how gymnastics training works, so most of what I know is from research. If any of what I write in that regard seems unrealistic, my apologies.**

**Also, you guys are blowing my mind already- this is only the tenth chapter, and this is already my most followed story, an my second most reviewed! I don't know why, but you guys love this, and I'm so truly grateful. Thank you for reading this, and enjoy!)**

The next day came around, and school was finally over. As the teachers dismissed their students, the kids of all ages eagerly left their seats, collected their things and headed to their lockers. "So, I heard Flip's serving a new Flippee today," Rusty said to the guys. "Who's up for heading down and checking it out?"

"I sure am!" Liam responded.

"Same here," Zach added next, followed by a "me too" from Clyde.

"I'll have to check it out another time," Lincoln said, pulling his gym bag out of the locker. "I have practice."

"Again?" Rusty asked. "I thought that was on Sunday?"

"It's three times a week, guys." He saw the surprised look on their faces and chuckles. "Come on. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't enjoy it, you know."

"Sure, but… three times a week for dodgeball? That sounds excessive."

Lincoln merely shrugged. "Gotta practice. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

He waved goodbye to them as he walked away, heading towards the school exit. He knew Girl Jordan and the others would meet him there, since he asked her before school started, so he decided to just sit on the steps until they arrived. While he was waiting, however, he heard a car horn, followed by someone shouting his name. Looking ahead, he saw Vanzilla was parked up front, with his sisters waving him over. "Get over here, Lincoln!" Lori called.

With a sigh, he got up and walked over to the old van, looking his eldest sister in the eye. "What is it, Lori? You know I have practice today."

"I know you do," she responded, her grin not faltering, "so we decided we would drop you off."

"Thanks, but I'm good. I'm walking there with-"

"We know you are, so we figured that we could drop her off too."

The eager twitters of his sisters behind the driver did not go unnoticed by the boy, who rolled her eyes. "Okay, two things. First- she's just a friend, end of. Besides, I'll be walking with the others too, and Vanzilla doesn't have room for all ten of you plus another seven."

"Wait, seven?" Lynn asked, clambering over Lucy- who became quite miffed by this- to speak with her brother. "Who else is there?"

"Lincoln!" They heard Girl Jordan call, the boy turning around to see her and her friends approaching. "Sorry, had to use the bathroom. You ready?"

"Yep." He looked back at the seventeen-year-old with a serious expression hidden behind a smile. "I'll see you at home."

With that, he and his friends began walking off, leaving Lori to huff in annoyance when they were a fair distance away. "Well, so much for that plan."

"What are you complaining about? Just follow them!" Lola suggested, waving her arms in the air to exaggerate her point. "It's not like we haven't done it before!"

"Because mom needs the car to visit Pop-Pop in an hour, and I'm supposed to drive to her work so she can take Vanzilla, drop us at home and go. I was going to use the whole dropping Lincoln off at dodgeball thing as an excuse."

"Well, looks like we're heading on home," Luna sighed, stretching her arms behind her head and leaning back in her seat.

"Yep. Make sure you're all buckled in."

* * *

So, while Lori drove the rest of her sisters to mom, Lincoln walked with the others towards the sports centre, enjoying the calming breeze that passed them by. Once they arrived, they headed straight inside, gave their cash to the instructor and headed into the changing rooms to get changed. At half three, when everyone was there, Chris led them through the warm up and stretches. Lincoln, looking around, noticed that there were a couple less people there, though he figured that some of the first timers from the taster session decided it was not for them.

"Okay, everyone!" Chris announced, prompting everyone to stop stretching. "Now that we're ready to go, we're going to do some practice with apparatus. For those who are new and joined us for the first time on Sunday, there are six apparatuses for men, and four for women." He saw one new girl raise her hand up. "Yes?"

"Why are there more for men than for women?" She asked.

"That's a fair question. The answer is that, in competition, men's disciplines focus on strength while women's disciplines focus on tumbling."

Confused slightly, Lincoln raised his hand up. "Isn't that a bit wrong?" He asked. "I mean, wouldn't men and women be equally good at either?"

"About time a guy asked that question," Mollie blurted out, eliciting laughter from those around her.

"Thank you, Mollie," Chris told her with a chuckle, before looking back at Lincoln. "That's an admirable thing to say, Lincoln. I think you're quite right there. That being said, some of the apparatus dates back more than two hundred years, and competitive gymnastics has been around more than a hundred years, so I suspect the reason is to do with tradition." Satisfied by the answer, Lincoln nodded and allowed Chris to continue. "Now, there are two pieces of apparatus that are used by both men and women, which will be what we look at today- the floor, and the vault. We'll spend the first half of today with the floor, and the second half with the vault, so let's get started!" He gestured for everyone to get to their feet, and led them onto the large square floor. "Okay, the way I like to teach gymnastics is this- I'll show you the move I want you to try, then in pairs you'll practice that. I'll keep an eye in case anyone's struggling, and since for some of you, this'll be your first session, I'd like the more experienced members here to pair up with the newer ones."

Artie turned to Lincoln and nudged him with his elbow, gaining the other boy's attention. "Hey, Lincoln," he said, "you want to pair up with me?"

"Sure," the white-haired boy replied. The two then stood next to each other, and once everyone was paired up as Chris had requested, the instructor spoke again.

"Alright. First things we're going to work on today are handstands cartwheeling. They're not the most exciting moves, but they are two of the first steps to getting better at gymnastics. It's a pair of skills that help not just with the floor, but with the vault and beam as well, and the bars to an extent. So, first, the cartwheel." He lunged forward with his right leg and threw his arms up. "First, position yourself like this. Then, lower your arms toward the ground and raise your back leg. Place one hand on the ground as you turn sideways, and…" He demonstrated, before placing his other hand further ahead and swinging his other leg up. "Push up!" He then completed the cartwheel, rotating over and landing in a lunge. "Use the momentum to carry you through. Now, I'm gonna show you one more time." He repeated the process, going step-by-step through the process and describing it as he went along. "Okay. Over to you guys. Find a space on the floor, and use the lines as a guide for your movement."

So, the kids began to practice, with Artie turning to Lincoln. "Want me to go first?"

"Actually, I think I'll give it a try first," Lincoln responded.

"Sure thing! Have at it."

Lincoln nodded, then prepared himself. He looked at the line marked on the floor, then lunged forward. He held his arms up, then leaned forward with his arms out in front of him and raised his back leg up, making him shake a little. He put one hand down on the ground and prepared to kick his leg upward, but as he tried to put his other hand down while his legs were kicked up, he felt himself shaking again, and had to go back to his original position, feeling a little defeated. "Dang it."

"Don't worry, Lincoln," Artie assured. "It takes time to get the hang of this stuff." He stood to the side of the line. "Give it another go." Lincoln nodded, then took a deep breath. He got back into lunging position, then leaned forward again, raising his back leg. Placing his hand on the ground, he kicked his legs up again and pressed his other hand down, but he had to put his legs down away from the line instead of complete the cartwheel. He grunted as he stood up straight, feeling a little frustrated. "Hey, that's an improvement. Maybe it would help if you tried doing it all at once instead of step by step."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"Maybe. After all, the way a cartwheel works is by using momentum to carry through. Watch me." Lincoln stood to one side and watched as Artie held his hands up in the air, then completed a cartwheel in one fluid motion rather than as a step-by-step process, impressing Lincoln before the dark haired boy faced him again. "You see? Give it a try."

"Okay." Lincoln stood back on the line while Artie stood to one side, flashing Lincoln a thumbs up. Lincoln nodded, then steadied himself and looked back at the line in front of him. Deciding to take Artie's advice, he took a deep breath and raised his arms up, before making his best attempt at reciprocating what Artie had just done. His hand went down against the ground, he kicked his legs up in the air, and before he even knew it, Lincoln had completed the cartwheel, landing back in a lunge position. It took him a second to realise this, before a smile came to his face. "I… I did it."

"Good job, Lincoln!" Artie congratulated.

"Thanks!" Looking at the floor, though he realised that he wasn't on the line anymore, and was instead to the side of it. "Oh."

Knowing straight away what that meant, Artie smiled. "Don't worry about it. It takes a bit of practice to make sure you do it perfectly straight. Once you learn to land it, that comes more easily."

"Okay. Thanks."

* * *

After an hour of practicing cartwheels, handstands, and other basic floor moves, plus a small demonstration of a floor run, Chris transitioned the practice towards the vault. "Now, before you can try using the vault horse properly, the first thing you have to do is be able to fall from a handstand on your back," he explained. "What you're going to do is a stretch jump onto the mat, then kick into a hand stand, and fall onto your back. Kat," he said to the raven-haired girl, "would you mind demonstrating?"

"Okay." She walked down to the start of the runway, then ran along it towards the vault, jumping off it and landing with her arms in the air. She then leaned forward, kicking her legs up into a handstand before falling onto her back. She quickly got back up, showing that she was okay.

"Thank you, Kat. Okay, now you've seen how to do it, I want you to one boy one have a go, okay? Line up at the start of the runway."

So, they lined up, with Lincoln taking a spot nearer the back of the line. As Chris called for them one by one to have a go, Jordan, who was just in front of Lincoln, looked at him and noticed he was a little nervous. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I just, I didn't do too well at handstands."

She smiled. "Don't worry. It's more about making sure you land okay rather than the handstand."

"Really?" She nodded. "Okay. Yeah, that makes me feel better. Thanks."

She laughed softly. "You do that a lot."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Thank me for things." He gave a chuckle at this, the two of them sharing a laugh before Chris called her name. "Guess I'm up. See you at the other end."

Before he could respond, she took off down the runway, leaving him to watch from afar as she cleanly executed the move. After that, she walked off the mat and Chris called his name. Collecting himself, Lincoln set off down the runway, keeping his pace until the end, where he jumped on the vault and steadily landed the stretch jump. He then leaned forward to place his hands on the mat and kicked his legs up to get into a handstand, but before his legs went all the way up, he felt his balance going again, and his body began to tip to one side before Chris caught him. "Easy there, Lincoln," he said as he steadied the boy back up into the full handstand. When he let go, Lincoln fell onto his back, landing safely without hurting himself. "Don't worry about it, kid. It takes a bit of practice, but you'll get there."

"Thanks," Lincoln replied as he got to his feet, getting off the mat and walking over to Jordan. "Well… that was a bit embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it." She looked over at the others and leaned towards Lincoln. "When Mollie and I first tried it, she misplaced her hands and went face first into the mat."

Lincoln stifled a snort, amused by this anecdote. "Really?!"

"Yeah, but within a couple of weeks or so, she had it nailed down. Don't worry, you'll figure it out."

"Thanks." When she lightly giggled again, he rolled his eyes, but kept a smile on his face. "Oh, har har."


	11. Ch 11- Another Session Over

After almost an hour of vaulting practice, everyone was stretching once more. "And that should be enough," Chris said, coming out of his current stretch. "It's important to stretch before and after practice to keep from injuring yourself. So, good work today, everyone! See you on Thursday!"

With that, everyone began to walk towards the changing rooms. "So, Lincoln do you need to get a ride home again?" Jordan asked.

"I think so, yeah," he admitted. "Are you sure your mom won't mind?"

"I doubt it. She did say she wouldn't mind on Sunday."

"Well, thanks, I guess." He stopped when he heard her giggling, and rolled his eyes. "I really should stop doing that so much."

She placed a hand on her hip. "Hey, I never said I minded it." She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll see you in five minutes."

"Okay." So, while she went to the girls' changing room, Lincoln went into the boys. As he began to gather his stuff together, he saw Artie enter the room as well, holding a cup of water in his hand. "Hey, Artie."

"Hey Lincoln," the other boy greeted. "You know, you did good today."

Lincoln smiled. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. Sure, you weren't perfect, but you're just starting off. Don't worry, it'll come with time."

"Thanks." Artie nodded, before sitting down on a bench and taking a drink of water. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, go for it."

"Why did you start doing gymnastics?"

Artie smiled. "Oh, wow! Wasn't expecting that!"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want, I was just curious."

"No, it's cool, I don't mind. Just been a long time since I was asked that." He put the now empty cup down next to him, then looked back at the white-haired boy. "Well, I started about a year and a half ago. My older brother- he's in college now- he played basketball here during high school. I came to see one of his matches and support him, and during halftime, I went to go use the bathroom. On the way back, though, I heard music coming from one of the hallways. I decided to check it out, and when I saw what was going on, I got curious. The instructor, her name was Jane, she saw me watching, so she came over to speak to me. At first, I thought she was going to call me a peeping tom, so I started to apologise and tried to walk away, but she was actually really nice about it. She asked me if I was curious about gymnastics, and if I was interested in trying for myself. I told her I was, but I had to go back to my brother's basketball game, so she told me to attend a taster session the next week. I went, and found that I really liked it."

"That's cool. Did your brother ever find out?"

"Yeah, he actually helped me keep it a secret from my dad for the first month or so, since his practices were at the same time, and he could drive me to and from practice. My mom would from time to time, like if my brother was injured or he was ill, but a lot of the time, it was just me and him. You know what I mean?"

"Kinda, yeah. I mean, with all the stuff my sisters do, it's not often that I hang out with just one of them anymore, but when I do, I do tend to enjoy it."

"I can't imagine how you do it. I mean, I only met one of your sisters that time you invited me to hang out at your place, and I was out of there as fast as I could."

They both shared a laugh at that. "Yeah, though I think the problem was that you started with the wrong sister. Lucy's one of my sisters who is… well, let's say a bit strong when it comes to her passions. Though, apart from my youngest sister, I could probably say that about any of them."

"And you have ten of them? Geez, that must be-"

"Loud?" This time, they laughed even harder. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"I bet. So, you coming on Thursday as well?"

"Sure will."

"Cool."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Mrs Rosato's car pulled up outside of the Loud House again, stopping at the edge of the driveway. "There you go, Lincoln," she told the boy.

"Thanks, Mrs Rosato," he responded, then turned to Girl Jordan. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hang on, Lincoln," she told him. "Do you have your phone with you?"

"Uh, yeah, it's in my bag."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure."

He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone, Girl Jordan doing the same with hers. Once he turned it on, she took it from him and he watched curiously as she began tapping away at both phones. When she was done, she handed the boy his phone back. "There. I've added you to our group chat, so we can talk more outside of school and practice."

"Neat. Thanks." He looked at the name of the group, then raised an eyebrow at her. "'The gal pals'?"

She smirked. "We couldn't think of anything gymnastics-y, so we just went with that instead."

He smirked back. "I'm sure Artie loves that." She giggled at his joke, getting a chuckle from the boy as well. "Well, I guess I'd better go."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded, then got out of the car and shut the door. After waving as the car drove away, he walked up to the front door and went inside, being met with the typical sounds of Loud House chaos. He chuckled, muttering "home, sweet, home," before shutting the door, which caught the attention of his eldest sister on the couch.

"There you are," she said. "About time. Dad literally said we can't have dinner until you got back."

"My bad. I'll let him know I'm here." She waved him off before returning to texting. He rolled his eyes as he made his way into the kitchen, where his father was making preparations by the stove whilst his next eldest sister was at the fridge. "I'm back, dad."

The chef smiled at his son. "Hey, champ!" He greeted the boy. "Great timing, dinner is ready to go in the oven, and will be cooked in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay. I'll go shower before dinner then."

"Hey, Linc, you want a soda?" Lynn Jr asked, lifting her head out of the fridge.

"Actually, is there a bottle of water in there instead?"

"One sec." She looked in the fridge once more, then grabbed what her brother requested and shut the door. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he said as she handed him the bottle, before opening the lid and greedily guzzling down the liquid. "Ah. That hit the spot."

"Easy, bro, don't go wetting yourself."

She chuckled, but he merely rolled his eyes. "Har, har."

He began to walk away to go have a shower, so Lynn chose to walk with him. "So, how was practice, bro?"

"It was really good! A lot of fun!"

"Sweet! So, you get anyone out?"

He took half a second to remember his dodgeball cover before replying. "Oh, uh, not really. We only played a couple of games, and I was against Girl Jordan both times."

"So?"

"So?! Lynn, she's undefeated at dodgeball! Hasn't been gotten out in a single game! She's like a dodgeball machine or something!"

"Pfffht! As if!"

"I'm serious! She'd probably beat you at it!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, please, now you're just talking crazy."

He smirked at his athletic sister. "I dunno, she's really good. You'd have a hard time beating her, that's for sure."

"Oh, yeah?! Well, maybe I'll head to your next practice, and we'll see for ourselves!"

Lincoln gulped. "Oh, uh, you can't!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not?"

He began to grow nervous. "Uh, w-well…. i-it's because it's closed practice. And, uh… I-I-I mean…"

After a few more seconds of stuttering, Lynn burst out laughing, leaning forward on her crutches to keep from falling down. "R-relax, bro! I'm just messing with you!"

"O-Oh!" He gave a couple of nervous laughs himself, before wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Oh, I had you going there!" She gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. "Nah, this is your thing bro. I know you don't want your big sis coming there to cramp your style." She gave a huge grin. "Besides, it wouldn't be cool of me to show you up like that, cause let's face it, I would."

He gritted his teeth a little, but still smiled at her. "Thanks, Lynn."

"Especially with your girlfriend there."

"Seriously! Not my girlfriend! Why do you guys keep saying that?!"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop messing with you. Now, go hit the shower. Smells like you need it."

She walked away with her crutches, leaving Lincoln to stand there. After a second, he sniffed his armpit and winced. 'Might want to start using deodorant,' he mentally noted, before heading to go use the shower.

* * *

Come evening, the Loud House was as quiet as it could be given its inhabitants, the eleven siblings eventually settling down and heading to their rooms for the night. While the girls all spent some time talking with their respective roommates before calling it a night, Lincoln was originally planning to hit the hay straight away. He finished his homework after dinner and made sure it was packed in his bag, so he spent a couple of hours or so playing video games (in his room, of course- getting the TV would have been impossible, especially since he had prolonged dinner due to his practice), before getting ready to go to bed. His plans, however, changed when he noticed a text on his phone. Grabbing the device and sitting at his chair, he saw that it was from Girl Jordan, which caught him by surprise.

'When did I get her number?' He pondered, before reading the text.

_Jordan: Hey, Lincoln, you still awake?_

Seeing that it was only a few minutes since the text had been received, he replied.

_Lincoln: Yeah, was just getting ready for bed. What's up?_

He only had to wait about twenty seconds before he got a reply.

_Jordan:_ _I wanted to know if you wanted to talk for a bit._

_Lincoln: sure, I can talk._

_Jordan: Cool. So, you seem to be enjoying practice_

_Lincoln: Yeah, I really am! Didn't fully think I would at first, but I'm glad you introduced me to it_

_Jordan: hehe me too! It's fun having you there too_

This made Lincoln smile. He was going to thank her for saying that, but she texted something else first.

_Jordan: So, me and the girls were planning on heading to the mall on Saturday. We usually do it once every couple of weeks or so. You wanna come with?_

_Lincoln: Eh, I dunno. The mall isn't really my thing_

_Jordan: come on, it'll be fun! Besides, with you there, I might finally be able to get the girls to go with me to the comic book store _

_Lincoln: … well, I do like the comic book store… sure, why not?_

_Jordan: awesome! I'll let the girls know tomorrow that you'll be joining us._

_Lincoln: Cool, but can you promise not to leave me with all the bags? I get that enough from my sisters _

_Jordan: haha, don't worry. I'll only ask you to carry two of my bags_

_Lincoln: har, har_

Even though he was 'texting sarcastically', he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

_Jordan: I'm gonna head to bed, so I'll see you at school_

_Lincoln: one last thing. When did we exchange numbers? I thought you only added me to your group chat _

Lincoln waited for maybe another minute for her to respond, growing mildly confused when she didn't respond.

_Lincoln: you there?_

_Jordan: … I may have added my number to your phone while I had the chance. *blushing face emoji* hope you're not mad_

_Lincoln: course I'm not mad, just surprised you didn't ask_

_Jordan: you sure? Honestly, I feel embarrassed about it now_

_Lincoln: don't be. Besides, now we have a way to talk about Mollie behind her back *winking emoji*_

Had Lincoln been around her, he would have heard Girl Jordan burst out laughing.

_Jordan: *crying laughing emoji*_

He chuckled himself a bit, before texting her back.

_Lincoln: Alright, I'll let you get some sleep_

_Jordan: Okay, and don't worry. I'll keep this between us_

_Lincoln: thanks, Jordan. Goodnight_

_Jordan: Goodnight_

With that, Lincoln turned off his phone, put it down on his desk, climbed into bed, closed his eyes and began to drift to sleep.


	12. Ch 12- Just Hanging Out

For Lincoln Loud, the next few days just passed him by, with the highlight being gymnastics practice on Thursday, where he had been shown how to use the rings and the pommel horse, and while he had struggled to get to grips with it, he found himself enjoying it all the same. The one thing that he didn't enjoy, however, was the fact his sisters seemed to be just that little more interested in what he was getting up to with Girl Jordan at school. Some of his sisters weren't as bad, like Luna and Leni, but some were just plain annoying about it, especially the twins, who went as far as to walk to school with him one day just so they could say hi to her and act like he had talked about her more than he had.

Come Friday evening, the Loud family were holding their weekly sibling meeting. Of course, most weeks, there was more than one, with the sisters and brother regularly calling for an 'emergency meeting' regarding various disputes, issues or plans, but this was the one meeting that was their 'regular' meeting. As everyone was chatting to themselves, Lori banged her shoe on the desk to silence them and gather their attention. "Okay, this meeting is officially in progress!" the eldest sibling announced. "Now, first order of business. Lisa, mom and dad have asked me to warn you that if you create another explosion this week, your grant money will be used to pay for the damages."

The toddler scientist crossed her arms. "Fine," she resigned. "Why must science be halted by such trivialities?"

Lori merely rolled her eyes. "Alright, next up, we need to decide what we will be doing this weekend. Now, I would like to propose that we head to the mall-"

"YAY!" Leni burst out happily, prompting Lori to groan.

"Leni, we need to vote, remember? Now, all in favour, raise your hands." Every one of the girls raised their hands up. "All opposed, do the same now."

They instinctively turned to face Lincoln, who merely shrugged. "I'm already heading there tomorrow, so I don't mind," he replied in a matter-of-fact way, though his sisters gave a different reaction.

"_You're_ going to the mall?" Lola asked. "As in, freely?"

He nodded, raising their suspicions. "Should I grab my crystal ball and try to remove the spirit that has possessed him?" Lucy asked.

Lincoln simply chuckled. "I'm not possessed by any spirits, Lucy," he explained, "I'm just hanging out with my friends from dodgeball."

"You mean Girl Jordan, Linky?" Luna asked in a singsong tone, prompting him to nod.

"OMGosh, he asked her out!" Leni blurted out, which made all of his sisters squeal happily, though Lincoln just covered his ears.

"I did not ask her out!" He lowered his hands when he felt it was safe to do so. "She and the others were already going, so they asked if I wanted to join, and I said yes."

"Smart call, Lincoln," Lori told him. "When you do ask her out, you should literally take her to the most romantic restaurant in town."

While she sighed happily at the thought, Luna rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, bro," she told him instead. "You need to find out her favourite band and get tickets to their next gig. Before you know it, you'll be able to just listen to the rhythm of her heart."

This led to a growing argument amongst the sisters as they yelled out their ideas for what Lincoln should do, adding to the boy's it's more and more as his eye began to twitch, until eventually he stood up and stomped his foot on the ground. "ENOUGH!" They silenced at the yelling, so he took a few seconds to calm down before continuing to speak. "Lori, I'm taking the floor."

"Lincoln, we still have-"

"Don't care," he cut her off, prompting her to raise her hands and allow him to take the floor. "Okay, you guys need to stop. I don't care what ideas you have in your head, me and Girl Jordan are just friends, okay? F-R-I-E-N-D-S."

"Do you really need them? Yes," Luna sang, only to be met with an unimpressed look from her brother that made her chuckle sheepishly. "My bad. That ad with the dog is stuck in my head."

He groaned, before returning to addressing his sisters. "So, from now on, stop with the jokes about asking her out, or me liking her, or anything like that."

Lori scoffed. "Lincoln, we're your sisters," she reminded him. "We've all known you for more than half of our lives, all of our lives in some cases. We know how you act around girls, and it's obvious that she's more than just a friend to you."

"Except she's not!"

"Then answer me this- was it her that asked you to join her and her friends at the mall tomorrow?"

"Yeah, so? That doesn't mean I like her! Besides, at least with them, I won't be made to wait and watch their bags while they do what they want."

"But, Linky, surely you find her cute!" Leni added.

Lincoln felt himself at his wit's ends. "Leni, I don't really think of her like that. She's my friend, that's all. And yeah, I'm hanging out with her a bit more now that I'm doing dodgeball, but that doesn't mean I like her. I mean, you started hanging out with that guy at your work, but you don't like him that way, so why is it different in my case?"

"Because you're you, Stinkoln," Lynn spoke up, which made him narrow his eyes at her. "For as long as I've known, outside of us, you've only hung out with guys outside of school, with the exception being Ronnie Anne."

"And we all know how you felt about her," Lana added with a grin.

"That just adds to my point! Did I like her at first? Sure, a little." His sisters' smirks grew. "But we chose to be just friends, yet you still tried to suggest she was my girlfriend when she wasn't! In fact, until Jordan first suggested I try it out, you STILL suggested that!" He sighed with a shake of his head. "Look, if you can't stop from making those kinds of jokes, at least tone it down a bit," he glared at the twins, "and no more trying to talk her into anything."

Begrudgingly, the girls agreed. "Alright," Lori spoke, "it's getting late, we can talk about the other stuff in Vanzilla."

"I'm gonna use the bathroom first if that's alright," the boy told his sisters, though didn't wait for their response before walking away. Once they heard the bathroom door shut, the girls turned to the eldest once more.

"Are we really going to back off?" Lola whined.

Lori tapped her chin for a few seconds, before a grin cane to her face. "Maybe we need a little bit more information," she suggested, mischief behind her words.

"And how, pray tell, would we acquire such intel?" Lisa asked.

"Well, if they're going to be at the mall together, it's our job as sisters to make sure our little brother is safe, is it not?"

The girls quickly got what this meant, prompting them to giggle. While he hadn't heard the conversation, Lincoln did hear the giggling whilst brushing his teeth, which put him on edge. 'That's never good…'

* * *

The next morning, Vanzilla pulled into the parking lot of the Royal Woods Mall, finding an empty parking spot near the entrance before Lori turned off the engine. "Okay, guys, you know the drill," the eldest spoke up. "Meet at the food court by twelve, and don't go over your budget." She turned around in her seat. "Luan, you okay with watching Lily this week?"

"No problem!" She replied. "After all, it's barely even a s-MALL task!" She laughed at her pun, as she always did. "Get it?"

Just like how she always laughed, her siblings groaned. "Okay, sure." Lori then turned to her only brother. "You okay for cash, Lincoln?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he replied, prompting Lori to give a small laugh.

"Well, just in case," she held out a twenty dollar bill to the boy, who stared at it skeptically.

"Okay, what's this for?" He looked around, and saw his other sisters were looking around, which only made his suspicions grow, though he eventually sussed it out. "Okay, I'm gonna explain this one last time."

"Lincoln, relax, we're joking with you," Lynn told him with an elbow nudge.

"Yeah, I figured you'd get that after living with me your whole life!" Luan added.

"Given what her jokes are usually like," Lola whispered to Lana, who sniggered at the jibe.

"Look, Lincoln, even if you're just friends, that doesn't mean you can't be a gentleman," she reminded him. "Besides, I owe you this for breaking your controller last month."

His face relaxed. "Oh, right. Well, thanks." He accepted the money, then opened the door. "I'll probably end up walking home, okay?"

"Alright, just give me a ring if you change your mind."

He nodded, then got out of the car and walked into the mall, the first thing to hit him being the cool flow from the AC blowing against him. The Royal Woods Mall wasn't the fanciest mall in the state, let alone the world, but it had a good variety of shops, so there was something for everyone. As he walked in, he saw the girls he was looking for waiting by a fountain, with Mollie being the one to spot him.

"There he is," she called out, alerting the others to his presence.

Girl Jordan smiled as he walked over to them. "Hey, Lincoln!"

"Hey, Girl Jordan," he replied. "Hope you weren't waiting too long for me."

"Nah, just, what, an hour?" Joy told him sarcastically, to which Jordan rolled her eyes.

"Ignore her, we just got here."

"So," he asked, "where do you girls want to go first?"

"Well, we usually start with Reininger's since it's right by the entrance," Sadie told him.

"Works for me." The girls walked with him to the store. "So, just to let you know, my sisters are here, so if they aren't caught up in their shopping, they'll probably be spying on me."

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Let me put it this way- I'm a guy hanging out with girls, so their first thought is that I'm dating one of you."

"Really?" Kat asked. "That sounds stupid."

"It's not the first time, and it won't be the last." As they walked into the clothing store, Lincoln turned his head to what was basically Leni wearing a hat and pretending to be a mannequin. "Hey, Leni."

"Hey, Linky!" She obliviously and eagerly replied, the girls hearing her mutter "dang it" as they carried on walking.

"See what I mean?"

"Fair enough," Kat admitted.

"Yeah, the others are at least a little more discreet, but I'll keep an eye out."

Jordan put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let them bother you," she assured him. "It's just their way of looking out for you."

He couldn't help but smile at that. "Thanks. So, is there anything particular you guys are looking for?"

"Nah, just looking around," Mollie told him. "We usually split up and see what there is for ten or fifteen minutes."

"Okay."

As the others walked off, Jordan noticed Lincoln was stood still. "You not looking around?"

"Nah, there's not really much I buy clothes wise."

"Well, then, would you mind looking with me? I wouldn't mind a second opinion."

Though surprised by the request, he nodded. As they looked around the stores, Lincoln would watch as the girl browsed some of the articles, occasionally lifting out a shirt or a skirt to look at. After a few minutes, she eventually found something that made her turn to Lincoln. "Hey, Lincoln?" She asked, holding a red shirt in front of her. It was similar to her regular shirt, but the sleeves were shorter. "Do you think this would look good on me?"

"Hmm… well, I'm not really the best when it comes to fashion, but I think it would work."

"Really?" He nodded. She looked at it for a few seconds more, then grabbed his hand. "Come with me a second."

He didn't ask as she led him through the store, eventually reaching the changing rooms. Lincoln waited outside while she went in to try on the top. In the meantime, Leni saw her brother and walked up to him. "Linky, I've, like, found the cutest jacket for you!"

She held up a purple varsity jacket with white sleeves, which the boy looked at before shaking his head. "Thanks, but it's not really my colour, and I'm not much of a jacket guy."

"Hmm… you're totes right." She puts the jacket on a nearby hanger. "So, where are your friends at?"

"They're looking around. I'm waiting for Jordan to come out of the changing room."

As he said that, he turned his head and saw Jordan approach, now donning the red t-shirt. "What do you think?"

He smiled. "I think it looks great!"

She smiled more at hearing him say this. "You mean it?"

"He's totes right!" Leni assured the girl. "The red really works with your bow."

"Aww, thank you! Both of you, really! I'll be right back."

So, while she went back to get changed into her usual top so she could pay for the new one, Leni turned to her brother. "She looks pretty, doesn't she, Linky?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I'm pretty sure the whole 'spying on me thing' means you're not supposed to talk to me."

"Come on. Even if you don't have a crush on her, you can at least admit that."

He let out a heavy sigh, before turning to face her. "Leni, what are you doing? I thought I asked you guys not to do this. She's my friend, and if you guys keep doing this, she might not feel comfortable hanging around me, and I don't want that."

She loosened her grin, feeling somewhat sorry for him. "Oh. I'm sorry, Linky. I just wanted to check on you."

"Well, you don't need to, okay? Just... do what you usually do when you're at the mall, and leave me alone." He saw that Jordan was coming out of the changing room. "I'll see you at home."

As her brother walked away with his friend, Leni couldn't help but feel a bit sad as her brother's words sank in.


	13. Ch 13- More Mall Mischief

While Lincoln went with Jordan so she could pay for her new shirt, Lori was keeping an eye on her brother, watching for his movements and his facial expressions. After the girl paid for it, Lincoln seemed to offer to carry her bag, and while she gave a bit of a laugh, she gratefully accepted it, before the two walked off to meet up with their other friends. Lori grinned the whole time as she pulled out her phone and dialled. "Hey, Luan," she spoke. "Lincoln's just about to leave the store with his friends, so keep an eye open, okay?" When the comedienne responded with a pun, a laugh and a "get it", the high school senior groaned. "Whatever. Just let me know what you see." With that, she hung up and returned the phone to her pocket. "Now, I need to find some shoes for my next city date with my Boo Boo Bear."

She walked around a bit, before finding her roommate looking at a rack of dress shirts. "Leni, there you are. I need your help choosing some shoes for-" she stopped when she noticed how her sister seemed to be just looking at the same shirt with little interest. "Leni? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she quietly replied, concerning the older girl.

"Leni, you're looking at a shirt that's literally half off, and you look like you couldn't care less!"

The fashionista sighed, before looking to Lori with a frown. "Are we doing the right thing by watching Linky like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I don't think he likes us doing this. He was telling me that-"

"Leni, you weren't supposed to talk to him!"

Leni's frown grew. "Sorry. I just saw a jacket I thought he'd like and went to show it to him. He was giving Jordan his opinion on a shirt she was trying, and I asked him if he thought she was pretty. He told me that he didn't want us watching him like this, because he thought she might be uncomfortable around him because of us."

Lori didn't answer right away, taking a moment to think about it. 'That's actually really sweet,' she thought to herself. 'He definitely cares about her, that's for sure.' Shaking her head lightly, she returned her gaze to her next youngest sister. "Look, Leni, I'm sorry for snapping at you. From what he said, it's obvious he cares about her, so maybe he does like her."

"But, I don't want to make Linky mad at me."

Lori offered her a caring smile. "We won't, I promise. Once we've heard from the others about what they think, we'll back off a bit, but we still need to watch them today."

"I don't know, Lori."

"Well, look at it this way. What about if she likes him? We don't want our little brother to break her heart, do we?"

Leni blinked in realisation. "I guess so." She smiled again, which relieved the eldest Loud sister. "Thanks, Lori."

"No problem, Leni."

* * *

While they returned to shopping in Reininger's, Lincoln and the others were walking towards the next shop, which was the comic book shop, since it was the closest one to the department store. While they did so, however, Luan caught sight of her brother. "Lincoln! Could you come over here a second?" She called to the boy.

"One second, girls," he told them, before he walked over to his sister. "What's up?"

"I know you're hanging with your friends, but I really need to pee, and I can't take Lily with me. It's not like we're both in diapers." She laughed at her joke, before returning to her serious demeanour. "Seriously, though, if I don't go quickly, there's gonna be two fountains in this part of the mall. Please?"

"Seriously? Why can't the others watch her?"

"I tried, but they kept on walking like they didn't hear me."

Lincoln scoffed. "Now you know what it's like for me each time we do this."

She frowned. "That's cold, Lincoln." He raised an eyebrow and waited until she groaned and threw her head back. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry that we always leave you with Lily when we go to the mall. It's just that Lily tends to be less fussy with you."

He relented upon hearing this. "Okay, I'm sorry too. I'll watch her, but be back soon."

"Thanks, Lincoln."

Before he could respond, the comedienne took off at a brisk pace in the direction of the nearest restroom. As he sat down on the bench, he saw that his friends were walking over to him. "My sister needed the bathroom, so I'm gonna watch a Lily for a few minutes. You guys can go on and I'll catch up if you like."

Joy looked like she was going to speak, but Jordan cut her off. "Don't be silly, Lincoln, we're not going to ditch you." She sat down with the boy and looked at the baby sat in the stroller. "This is your youngest sister, right?"

"Uh Huh. This is Lily." He saw that the infant was reaching for him, so he undid the buckle and picked her up. "Hi, Lily. Missed me?"

"Poo poo," she responded, which was met with coos from Lincoln's friends.

"She's adorable!" Sadie sighed.

"She really is," Jordan added. She then noticed Lily looking at her and gave her a small wave. "Hi there." Lily smiled at this and began to reach out to the girl with the braided ponytail. "Huh?"

"I think she wants you to hold her." Jordan looked a bit nervous when he said this. "It's alright."

"I don't know, Lincoln, I don't want to hurt her."

"You won't."

"Go for it, Jordan!" Mollie encouraged, which was met with nods from the others.

"O-okay, then." She held her arms out, and Lincoln helped her to take hold of the youngest Loud, letting go once she felt comfortable enough holding her. After a few seconds, Jordan smiled again. "Hi there, Lily. My name's Jordan."

"Ora!" She tried to say, which just seemed adorable to the girls, and even a bit to Lincoln, especially when Lily hugged her. "Aww… you're just precious." She looked over at the baby's brother. "How old is she?"

"She's a bit over one and a half," Lincoln answered.

While the girls continued to talk innocently with the infant, Luan eventually emerged from the bathroom and began to walk back to where she had left Lily with their brother. When they were in sight, however, she saw how the infant was giggling in the braided haired girl's grasp, and how Jordan was smiling back. The comedienne didn't fail to notice the smile on her brother's face either, and how his gaze was more at his friend than his younger sister, which made her smirk. "Just friends, huh?" She said to herself, before walking over to the group. "Thanks for that, Lincoln," she told the boy.

"No problem, Luan," he replied.

"She is just precious!" Jordan told the brunette. "Seriously, she's the cutest little thing!"

"Yep! Until she messes up her diaper, that is. That happens, and it can really _mess _with that idea." Luan laughed to herself. "Get it?"

The girls all had the same reaction as Lincoln and groaned in response to the joke. "Well, it's been nice meeting you, Luan," Jordan said as she placed Lily back in her stroller, "and it's been so much fun meeting you, Lily!" The gargled response that Lily gave was met with coos from the sixth grade girls. "Anyway, we better move on, or I'll be stuck here forever."

Lincoln nodded, then began to walk off with his friends. "See you later, Link!" Luan called as they walked off, her brother waving back. After he was far enough away, Luan pulled her phone out and dialled a number, before placing it next to her ear to speak. "Lynn, Lincoln's headed your way- get your head in the game!" Once again, she laughed and asked the athletic girl, "Get it?"

* * *

"Whatever," Lynn responded with a groan, before hanging up. The middle schooler had agreed to watch from inside the comic book store with Lucy, because it was next to the sports clothing store, and because Lucy had been recommended a vampire manga by a member of the morticians' club, so it wouldn't be hard to excuse themselves. However, that didn't mean Lynn would just stand there so her brother could easily see her. Instead, she stood behind the ends of the stands, peering out over the edge. Her crutches made this a little more difficult, but she found a way to manage. As her brother and his friends entered the store, she watched them carefully. 'Okay, bro, it's go time.'

Oblivious to his closest-aged sister's presence, Lincoln turned to his friends. "So, what do you guys want to look for?"

"I'll be honest, comics aren't really my things," Sadie replied, to which Joy nodded her head in agreement. "They're okay, they're just not my thing."

"That's fair."

"I'm gonna see if they have any Kill Book manga," Kat answered next. "I haven't read any before, but I recently got into the show on Flakyroll, so I'm curious."

"I think I'll join you," Mollie added, before the two walked away.

"What about you, Lincoln?" Jordan asked. "What are you looking for?"

"Well, I usually get the new Ace Savvy on Wednesdays, so I think I'll see if there's a new Muscle Fish out."

"Muscle Fish? I think I've heard of it, but I don't think I've ever seen one."

"Really? I could show you, if you like."

"Sure!" He led her towards one of the racks of comics, and when he showed her where the Muscle Fish comics were, she noticed that he Ace Savvy comics were just next to them. "Does Bill Buck do the Muscle Fish comics too?"

Lincoln chuckled. "No, Muscle Fish was created by another comic book artist, but they're part of the same universe. There have been a few crossovers over the years, but mostly they stay separate."

"That's pretty cool, actually." She picked up a random issue from the rack and began to look it through, a smile forming on her face. "This is pretty neat. Might have to look into reading more of these."

He looked at the issue that she was reading and smiled as well. "That's a good issue, too, especially for someone who's just getting into the series."

"Really? In that case, I think I'll get it." Her smile grew smaller, though, as she realised something. "Oh, wait. I was going to get an older Ace Savvy I had heard of online, and if I get both, I probably won't be able to pay for lunch."

Lincoln's smile dropped a little, but then went back up. "If you want, I can get it for you."

"No, I couldn't! It's okay, I can come back and get this another time."

"Don't be silly, I don't mind. It's fine."

"But, what about your lunch? I don't want you to be unable to pay for it."

"It's fine, really. Besides, my sister paid me back some money she owed me, so it's really not a problem."

"You're sure?"

He gave her a warm smile. "I'm really sure."

She smiled shyly, amazed by his generosity. "Thanks, Lincoln. That's so nice of you."

He waved it off, before she handed him the comic book. "It's nothing." He then happened to peer over her shoulder and see his next youngest sister perusing one of the stands. "Hey, I'll be back in a second. I just need to see to something."

"Okay, sure. I'm gonna find that Ace Savvy I was after."

He nodded, then walked past her and towards his eight-year-old sister. "Lucy? What are you doing here?"

Lucy turned to her brother, holding a couple of comic books in her arms. "Hey, Lincoln," she greeted. "I was looking for something a friend recommended since I'm kind of burnt out from Vampires of Melancholia right now."

"Really? What about-"

"Not Edwin. I could never grow tired of him."

Lincoln smirked. "I was going to say what about that one in your arms?"

She looked down for a second at the books in her arms, then back up, thankful her blush was hidden by her hair. "O-oh, that… that's just…"

He kneeled down to his sister's height. "Are you holding that just to hide what's behind it?" Her blush grew more, so she nodded shyly, which made him smile. "Would you like me to get that one for you?"

"… yes, please."

He gave a soft laugh. "Come here." He pulled her forward to a hug with one arm, and used his other arm to grab the comic books from her, placing them under the one he was getting for Jordan, before releasing the hug. Lucy then handed him enough money to pay for it, while making sure she had enough for the other comic book she wanted. "Alright, now go find the one you were looking for, and put this back. I doubt anyone would believe you liked-" As he finally noticed what it actually was, he almost choked on his words, his cheeks practically glowing as he cleared his throat.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh… I-I'll just put that here," he stuttered, slipping it into a random slot on the rack. "Let's just say you'll get it when you're older."

Although confused by this, Lucy shrugged it off and said, "thanks, Lincoln," before walking away. As he stood up, Lincoln saw Girl Jordan coming his way. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yep," she replied. "Also, I saw that there was a new issue of Muscle Fish, so I grabbed it for you."

She held the comic book out for him, and he smiled as he accepted it. "Thanks! Well, I think that's all I'm looking for, so I think I'm good to go."

"Alright. I'm gonna see what the others have got, and then I'll pay for mine."

As Lincoln nodded and walked away to pay for the books in his hands, Lynn, having kept an eye on both him and Jordan the whole time, looked at the facial expressions on their faces. Being an athlete, she had learned to read facial expressions for signs of weakness, but today, she found that she was able to use this experience to get a feel for how her brother was feeling, and while she could tell that he liked the girl, she wasn't sure to what extent. At the same time, however, she got the same sort of feeling from what she saw in Girl Jordan's expressions.

'Might have to see what the other girls see,' she mentally noted. 'This might not be quite that simple.'


	14. Ch 14- Food Court

**(A/N: so, as I was writing the next chapter, I realised that I made a mistake in this story- I've been saying Lincoln is in the fifth grade, yet for this story, I wanted Lincoln and the others to be in the sixth grade. It's a small detail, I'm aware, but it fits with how I had imagined the timeline of events. You don't need to reread the previous chapters to understand this change, I just wanted to make this clear in case there's any confusion.**

**Thank you again for the ongoing support and feedback, and enjoy!)**

Eventually, the two groups made their way to the food court, which was relatively just as bustling as the mall downstairs. There was a decent selection of food options, even if not a lot of it was what most people would consider 'healthy'.

"So, what are you girls getting to eat?" Lincoln asked the girls.

"We can never agree on what to get," Mollie explained, "so we just get our own things and meet back at the table."

"Whose turn is it to watch the table?" Sadie asked.

"I'll do it," Lincoln offered. "It's no bother."

"You don't have to do that," Jordan insisted. "I think it was my turn."

"Nah, it's okay. Go on, I don't mind." While Jordan was prepared to argue a bit more, her friends thanked the Loud boy before heading off to get their food. Jordan shook her head, then looked back and forth between the different food outlets and the table Lincoln sat down at, before sitting down opposite him. "Aren't you gonna go as well?"

"Nah. Think I'll keep you company and wait for the others to get back." She then smirked. "So, what are you getting? Probably something weird like a hot dog with kiwis."

He rolled his eyes at her, replying "har, har" sarcastically, but couldn't help but smile at the small laugh she gave. "You know, I can eat just a regular burger. Not everything I eat is an acquired taste."

"Really? So, where do you stand on pineapple on pizza?"

"Everyone seems to think I would enjoy it, but I just don't get why you would do that!"

"Exactly! It's so disgusting!"

The two then shared a laugh with each other, which did not go unnoticed by the group of girls sat down at a table a few tables away from them. While they were unable to listen to what they were saying, they had a good view of the two sixth graders, and that meant they could see the joyous look on their brother's face. "Look at him," Lola gushed. "Could he make it more obvious?"

"I don't think it means anything," Lucy argued. "Something about his aura is calmed by her presence, but not in the same way as that of one of two lovers would be."

Lola rolled her eyes. "What do you know? Your hair is blocking your eyes. It's _so_ obvious he likes her."

Lucy, despite her eyes indeed being covered by her eyes, gave a deadpan look. "You don't need eyes to sense the aura radiated from a being's soul."

"I've gotta agree with spooky here," Lynn added. "Not about the aura mumbo jumbo, but I don't really get the feeling that Link is feeling that way about her."

Lola scoffed at the athlete. "And what would _you _know? You've never even spoken to your crush outside of your silly baseball games."

"First off, it's softball," Lynn argued with gritted teeth, then raised a fist, "and I'd think twice about calling them 'silly'." Lola merely rolled her eyes, allowing Lynn to continue. "Anyway, when they were in the comic book store, I didn't really get the vibe tat they were crushing on each other."

"What happened?" Lana asked.

"Well, first he helped to show her… something. I dunno what, it's all dork literature to me. Anyway, I heard that she didn't have enough to pay for both her things, so Lincoln offered to get one of them for her."

The girls all cooed at their brother's deed. "See? That was so romantic!" Lola gushed again.

"I'm not so sure he did it to be romantic, though. It kinda felt like he was just doing it to be kind."

"Well, Lori _did _ tell him to be a gentleman," Luna pointed out. "Could be he was just trying to follow her advice."

"I dunno, you guys," Luan countered, "he seemed pretty admiring of her when they were hanging out with Lily."

Lori blinked. "Wait, when did you leave Lily with them?"

"Well, I had to go to the bathroom, and Lincoln was kind enough to let me and watch Lily, which was a _relief_." Again, she used her typical laugh. "Get it?" The others groaned, but Luan didn't need reminding to continue with the story. "Anyway, when I got back, I saw that Lily and Jordan were playing together. The girls all found Lily to be the cutest thing ever-"

"Poo poo!"

Luan rolled her eyes. "Which, of course, she is." Lily giggled happily. "When I looked at Lincoln, though, he had a look in his eyes that I could just tell meant he felt _something _for her."

"Really?" Leni asked. "That doesn't really match what he told me."

"Well, what did he tell you?" Lola inquired.

"Well, he was giving her advice on a red top, which- FYI- totes worked with her bow. I asked him if he thought she looked pretty, but he asked me to stop asking about her, and how he was worried that us watching them like this might, like, ruin their friendship."

This was again met with a chorus of "Aww" from the girls, but there was an underlying sadness this time. "So… what's the plan now, dudettes?" Luna asked. "Should we stay or should we go?"

"Well…" Lori took a brief pause to word her response. "Regardless of how the twerp feels about her, we don't want to make them uncomfortable or risk ruining their friendship, no matter what."

"But what if he does like her?" Lola asked. "We all know that Linky isn't the best at dealing with those sorts of feelings. We _all_ know how things went with Ronnie Anne."

"You're right, and I'm not saying that he doesn't have feelings- if we find out he does, we'll deal with it then- but at the same time, if we try and sway things that way and he doesn't actually feel that way, then it may make things awkward for them." Lola opened her mouth, but found she had no retort, so she shut it and ducked her head a little. "I think that the best thing for us to do this time would be to just step back a bit and let Lincoln figure things out for himself. Whenever those two are around each other, don't do anything to interfere with them." She then put on a small smirk. "If we're at home and it's just Lincoln, you can tease him a little, but don't go too far with it. Are we clear?" They all nodded to show their mutual agreement. "Alright. Now, who wants what to eat?"

While they all made their orders with the eldest, Lincoln and Jordan were chatting to each other when their friends returned with trays carrying their food- Mollie had gone for a simple cheeseburger with fries and a bottle of water; Sadie and Kat each had a salad, with the former having a bottle of water and the latter having a bottle of fruit juice; and Joy had a slice of pizza with a soda can.

"Thanks for holding the table, Lincoln," Kat said to the boy, sitting down next to Jordan with Mollie on her other side.

"Yeah, you two can go get your food now," Sadie added.

"Okay, sure," both Lincoln and Jordan said in response at the same time, only to look at each other and chuckle.

"Be back in about five minutes," Lincoln said, to which Jordan nodded, before they went away to get their lunches.

"So, what do you girls think of Lincoln?" Mollie asked once they were far enough away.

"He's okay," Joy responded, taking a bite of her pizza, waiting to swallow before she spoke again. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious, since he's someone we're gonna be seeing him more now he does gymnastics."

"I think he's alright," Kat offered. "It might be nice having him around."

"I agree," Sadie replied. "Jordan seems to be having fun around him."

Joy looked over her shoulder to see where Jordan had gone, then turned back around and leaned forward a bit. "You guys don't think she likes him, do you?"

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Joy, you said that when she started hanging out with Artie after she started doing gymnastics."

"Nah, its different this time. He offered to pay for her comic book, she asked him to give an opinion on a shirt she was buying, and it was her who invited him."

Mollie shook her head. "I doubt it. She would have told me if she had a crush on him."

"You have to admit, Mollie," Kat explained, "she definitely seems a bit more friendly with him now. Maybe she's not telling us something?"

"You think?" When the raven-haired girl shrugged, Mollie took a moment to consider it. "I doubt she likes him like that, but yeah, she has seemed a bit more friendly now he's joined gymnastics. Still, it's probably nothing to think too hard about right now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Joy conceded. "Still, if I see them two giggling like that again, I'm gonna puke."

The girls shared a laugh, just as Jordan returned with her tray, carrying a salad, a cookie and a soda, with Lincoln carrying his burger and soda just a few seconds after. "What's so funny?" Jordan asked as she sat down.

"Oh, it's nothing," Mollie replied, prompting the girl in the yellow shirt to raise an eyebrow, while Lincoln just rolled his eyes.

"I've heard that one before," he muttered, then looked at the confused girl. "Just go with it. If they say it's nothing, it's definitely something, but they'll never tell you."

Jordan gave a chuckle. "And what makes you so certain?"

"Them," he replied, poking a thumb in the direction of his sisters.

"Oh boy, it's the Girl Guru again!" Joy remarked, which received laughter from the girls, and even though he was shaking his head, even Lincoln couldn't help but laugh as well.

* * *

After he and the others finished lunch, they looked around a couple of other shops before calling it a day. His sisters had already taken Vanzilla back, but he didn't mind, as he was planning to walk home anyway. Even when Jordan's mother offered, he politely declined and thanked her for the offer, before everyone made their goodbyes and went their separate ways. As he walked along the sidewalks of Royal Woods, he somehow felt both at ease and energetic. His trip to the mall had left him in good spirits and with a spring in his step, yet the cooling October breeze made him feel calm, and convinced him to take his time rather than rush home.

As he turned the corner, he saw two familiar men jogging his way. One was a slim, light skinned man with ginger hair and wearing a yellow tracksuit with a white diagonal stripe and a yellow headband, while the other was a portly, dark skinned man with black hair and wearing a blue tracksuit and headband with white sneakers. They saw Lincoln in their path and slowed down to a stop. "Hi, Mr McBride. Hi, Mr McBride," Lincoln greeted them.

"Hello, Lincoln," the rounder man, Harold, greeted back. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, thank you. What about you two?"

"We're just swell, Lincoln," the other man, Howard, answered. "Just getting in our Saturday jog. You're welcome to join us if you like."

"That's okay. I'm just heading home."

"Of course. Besides, I'm sure you're getting enough exercise with your dodgeball practice."

"You heard about that?"

"Why, your father told us when we went to his restaurant the other day!" Harold explained. "He's quite proud of you for finding it by yourself."

Lincoln's smile turned nervous. "Is he…" He hid his reaction by quickly adding, "well, I don't want to keep you. I should be heading home before my parents get worried. It was nice talking with you."

"Anytime, Lincoln," Howard responded.

"Oh, and Lincoln," Harold added, "I believe Clyde was thinking about inviting you for a sleepover next weekend."

"Okay. I'll ask him about it when I get back."

He nodded to the boy. "You be safe getting home, Lincoln."

"Will do." With that, the three went their separate ways, with the two McBrides jogging off once more. As Lincoln continued towards his home, he turned to the viewer. "I'm starting to feel a bit guilty about not telling my parents the truth," he admitted. "I'm still worried about how my sisters will react when they find out, especially given how they reacted to… the toilet incident…" He shuddered as he remembered some of the teasing he got. "So, yeah, I'm not ready to tell them yet. But, if dad's that proud of me… will he still be if he finds out I lied to him?" He stopped at the end of the path, waiting for the lights to change. "But, then there's the issue of how I tell mom and dad without my sisters knowing. Not only would I have to tell them, but I'd have to convince them not to tell my sisters, which is an even bigger task. I may be the man with the plan, but… this could be tough."

As the lights changed and he safely crossed the road, Lincoln put this thought to one side as he continued his way home, knowing that it would take more than the walk over the next few blocks to solve this issue. When he eventually arrived back at home, his eyes and ears were met with the familiar sights and sounds of the usual chaos his sisters cause on Saturday's. After walking inside and telling his parents that he was back, he headed upstairs to go give Lucy her comic book and read his for a while, but when he got to the landing, he heard an unusual sound from one of the rooms- specifically, that of his eldest sisters. Walking up to the door, he saw it was open. While Lori wasn't there, Leni was, and she was laid on her bed with her back to the open doorway. Lincoln know from living with his sisters what this sort of thing meant.

'She's upset,' he mentally acknowledged. 'I know she probably wants some alone time, but…' He sighed. 'My brotherly instincts tell me I should speak to her. I hate seeing her like this.'

And with that, he stepped inside.


	15. Ch 15- Friends

"Leni?" He asked, getting her attention.

"Oh. Hey, Linky," she replied, not even bothering to smile as she rolled back over.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Leni…" He sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I can tell something is bothering you. You know that you can talk to me, right? I don't like seeing you like this."

"Sorry…" She sat up, but still didn't look at him, just staring ahead of her. Lincoln noticed how her eyes were… not tired, as such, but drained in a sense. "I'm just… not feeling like myself at the moment."

He tilted his head, now truly concerned. "How come?"

She began absentmindedly rubbing her left arm. "I'm just… feeling bad about how I acted earlier." She looked at her brother, and saw that he didn't understand. "What you said to me at the mall… it really made me think, you know?" He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to stop him. "I know what you're going to say, and you, like, don't need to. You were right. We do meddle too much, but we can't help it sometimes. You're the sweetest, kindest, most forgiving boy we know, and you're our brother. We just want to know you're happy."

"I know you do. I've always known that. I just wish you could trust me with stuff like this."

"It's not that we don't trust you, Linky. It's..." After a moment, she pulled her legs towards her chest and hugged them. "To be honest, I don't even know what it is. Maybe my head is just full of air."

Her brother's frown deepened. "Don't say that, Leni."

"But it's true. Everyone knows I'm not that smart, and that I get confused. I always just assumed that we were doing the right thing by watching you like that, because that was what everyone else would say we should do."

Lincoln sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I don't blame you for feeling pressured. It's hard to get your voice heard in this house when there's so many people who want to be heard. Remember the time I thought Bobby was cheating on Lori and got all of you involved?"

"That was different, though. We all joined you because we were worried for Lori."

"But, I still made you guys help, even if some you would have known better." He then looked back up at his sister. "My point is that, just because you didn't get why you were doing that, it doesn't mean your head is full of air. I wouldn't want you to be the smartest person I know, because you're the most sincere person I know." He gave a small smile. "You don't see any of us going to Lisa when we need a heart-to-heart or for advice on how to talk about someone we like, do you?"

She couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess not."

"No, because she may be brilliant at science, but you're the best at stuff like that. You're not the smartest person, but you're creative, and you're kind, and you're everything I could ever ask you to be and more."

She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her brother, quickly feeling the hug being reciprocated by him. "Thanks, Linky," she told him gratefully, sniffling back any tears that tried to come through.

"No problem, Leni."

She then leaned out of the hug, allowing him to see her smile while she looked him in the eyes. "I promise from now on, that if you and Jordan are hanging out, and you don't want me to watch you or get involved, I won't. I might not be able to convince the others, but I'll try."

He felt touched by her promise. "You mean it?" She nodded. "Thank you."

He got up and prepared to head to his room as he had planned. "One question, though." He sat back down after she gestured for him to do so. "And be honest- do you think Jordan is pretty?"

He frowned. "Leni…"

"I'm not asking this to tease you or anything, I just want to know. Please?"

He sighed. "Well… I wouldn't say she's not pretty, but… I never really thought about it, you know?"

She nodded. "I get it, Linky. I won't ask again."

"Thanks. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

With that, he took his leave. Walking towards his bedroom and through the door, he closed the door behind him. He reached into his bag and pulled out the contents, then moved his chair underneath the vents. Opening the vent, he lifted himself up to look inside and saw Lucy sat with her pen and poetry book. "Lucy?"

She looked his way and shuffled along towards him. "Hey, Lincoln," she replied. "How was your day?"

"Good, thanks." He then handed her the comic book he had bought for her. "I believe this is yours."

Her cheeks, though hidden by her hair, tinted pink as she accepted the book with a brief smile. "Thanks, Lincoln."

"You're welcome, spooky."

"Can you help me real quick? I'm struggling for a rhyme to go with the word, 'leave'."

"Hmm… how about 'reprieve'?"

She looked back at her poem, then her smile grew a smidge. "Perfect. Thanks."

"Okay, Lucy." After climbing down from the vents, he laid down on the bed with his comic, before letting out a small chuckle. 'Maybe I can get a small reprieve myself.'

* * *

Monday came around again, and it was the first day of the last week before the half term break. The students at Royal Woods Elementary were excited to get a week off, but they still had to go to school before that could happen. As Vanzilla pulled up in front of the school, Lori turned around in her seat. "Okay, we're here," she said to the youngest Louds in the van. "You know the deal- be here on time, or let me know if you have other plans. I have a video date with Bobby later."

Lincoln and his younger sisters all rolled their eyes before they got out of the van. After Lori drove away, the Loud siblings went into the already bustling elementary school, making their own ways towards their respective lockers and classrooms. As he turned the corner towards his, Lincoln saw his friends by their lockers and walked up to them. "Hey, guys," he greeted.

"Hey, Lincoln," Liam greeted back first as the boys and Stella turned to face him.

"So, Lincoln, we're having a sleepover at my place on Friday," Clyde addressed him next. "You free?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Lincoln replied. "What's the plan?"

"Well, my dad's said it would be okay if we went to Gus' Games And Grub first, then you guys can grab your things for the night and we'll meet at my place at six."

"Sounds awesome!"

"You coming as well, Stella?" Zach asked the girl.

"I'll ask, but I don't know how comfortable my mom will be about me staying at a sleepover with boys."

Lincoln chuckled. "That sounds about right, my parents are the same with my sisters."

"So, I've got no chance, then?"

"I wouldn't say that- you just need the right way to convince them."

She gave a silent laugh and smirked at him. "I'll keep that in mind. So, Lincoln, I heard you went to the mall with Girl Jordan?"

"Well, it wasn't just us, but yeah. Was actually pretty fun."

Rusty looked at him skeptically. "I thought you hated going with your sisters?" He questioned.

"Well, when you're actually allowed to look around instead of watching your baby sister and holding their bags, it's not that bad, actually."

"Seriously? Ten sisters, yet you're the one who has to watch the baby?" Stella asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, there's a lot of drawbacks to having a big family." As they all laughed at the joke, Lincoln felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning around, he smiled as he saw that it was Jordan. "Hey, Girl Jordan."

"Hey, Lincoln!" She replied. "I was wondering if you wanted to sit with us at lunch again."

"Sure, that sound great!" He turned to the others. "You okay with that, guys?"

Clyde opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Stella. "Sure, that's cool with us!"

The boys reluctantly agreed as well, though Lincoln didn't notice the tone in which they did. "Thanks, guys." The bell then rang throughout the corridor, indicating that class was starting. "We'd better get in before Mrs Johnson marks us late."

While the rest of the students began making their way to their respective classrooms, Stella grabbed a hold of Clyde's shoulder and pulled him back a little. "What's up?" He asked.

"What's with you guys?" She asked, looking at him with crossed arms and one eyebrow raised. "You acted really weird just then."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, throwing his arms up in defence.

"Oh, really? Because, I've never seen you guys act like that around Lincoln. Is something going on between you guys?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Then why were you-"

"Alright, you two, get in class," Coach Pakowski interrupted as he walked by. "Don't make me send you to the Principal's Office."

"Yes, Coach," they both replied, and made their way into the classroom.

"Seriously, Stella, it's nothing," Clyde assured her one last time, before making his way to his seat.

'Hmm…'

* * *

The morning was as boring as could be expected for the sixth grade class, with everyone doing their best to keep awake during the lessons they had to endure. Perhaps it was the end of half term buzz, but they just wanted to be anywhere but there. Fortunately, the bell for lunch ringing gave them a momentary reprieve, and the teacher dismissed the class. Everyone was eager to get up from their seats and make their way into the corridor, before heading to their lockers. After grabbing their lunches from their lockers, Lincoln and Clyde headed towards the lunch hall, where Lincoln saw the girls from gymnastics sat at one table. "See you after lunch," he told Clyde.

"Okay," he replied, before they went their separate ways. Clyde sat down with Rusty, Liam and Zach, and watched as Lincoln waved to the girls, who waved back as he sat down with them. As he watched them talk and laugh together, Clyde unconsciously began frowning at the sight, which Rusty noticed.

"Hey, Clyde, you listening?" The talker of the boys asked, snapping him out of his gaze.

"Huh?"

"What were you looking at, Clyde?" Zach asked.

"Oh, it's nothing."

The way the bespectacled boy played with a bit of his pasta, however, suggested otherwise, so Rusty looked in the direction Clyde had previously done so, and frowned at the sight of Lincoln laughing with the others. "Geez, rub it in our face, much?"

"Dang," Liam sighed as he looked at it as well. "When did they get so chummy?"

"Hey, guys!" Stella said with a smile as she sat down. "Sorry, the line was huge today for some reason." As she grabbed a bit of food on her fork, she saw the looks on her friends' faces and noticed that they weren't listening to her. "Uh, guys, you okay?"

"Yeah…" they all sighed.

Unconvinced, she looked where they were looking, then frowned at them. "Are you guys spying on Lincoln? Okay, seriously, what is with you guys?"

"Nothing, really," Zach replied, looking back to his food.

"Don't play dumb with me! You guys have had a problem with Lincoln all day, and I want to know why. Is it because he's hanging out with Girl Jordan and the others?" The others all looked nervous when she suggested this, which made her roll her eyes. "Are you guys serious right now?!"

"In all fairness, Stella," Liam spoke up, "we've known Lincoln for a good few years now, and he's not really hung out with them this much before."

"So? They're his friends too, you know? He is allowed to hang out with them. Besides, they've been helping him with dodgeball, and got him into it to begin with, so it's understandable that he'd want to hang out with them."

"Yeah, but this much?" Rusty pointed out. "They have practice three times a week anyway."

"Plus, it's more that he seems to be having more fun with them than he does with us," Clyde added.

"Yeah…"

Stella was confused before, and mildly irritated, but she was in full on disbelief now. "You guys are crazy! First of all, Clyde, remember the time you and Zach started going to antique shows together? How is this different?" Both of them looked away guiltily. "And Liam, you said it yourself, you've known him for a few years now. Do you really think he'd rather hang out with them than with you guys?"

Liam gulped down his bite of his sandwich. "Well… I dunno…"

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, guys, you're being idiots right now. Lincoln's your best friend, and you guys are his. He's not abandoning you or anything, he's hanging out with them because they're his friends too, and they share a different interest with him. Relax, okay?" They reluctantly muttered an "Okay" to her, making her shake her head at them. "Boys…"


	16. Ch 16- Change Of Plans

**(A/N: sorry about the late upload, I really needed the extra sleep last night. Thank you all so much for your continued support, this has officially become my most reviewed fanfic, and is my second most viewed!**

**You guys are awesome! Thank you once again, and enjoy!)**

The next day, and the students of Royal Woods Elementary School were elated by the sound of the end of school bell. "Alright, class," Mrs Johnson declared. "That wraps up the day. Class is dismissed." No one needed telling twice, as they were quick to gather their things in their bags and standing from their seats. "Girl Jordan, may I see you for a second?"

She looked to her friend, confused by the request from her teacher, but Mollie simply shrugged at her, so Jordan turned back to her teacher. "Yes, Mrs Johnson." She turned to Mollie once more. "I'll be a minute. You girls can go on, I'll catch up."

"You sure?" Mollie asked, to which Jordan nodded. "Alright. Guess I'll see you there."

"Okay." So, whilst Mollie left the classroom, Jordan approached the teacher's desk. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all, Jordan," Mrs Johnson replied with a wave of her hand. "Your grades and behaviour have been as good as usual."

"Then, if I'm not in trouble, how come you need to speak to me?"

Mrs Johnson reached for a post-it note left on her monitor. "Your mother called the office earlier. She said that she was experiencing car troubles on her way to work this morning."

The girl instantly felt concerned. "Oh no! Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's fine. She just called to let you know that she had to take her car to a mechanic, and that neither she nor your father will be able to pick you up after your practice."

Jordan let out a breath of relief. "Okay, that's… that's fine. Thank you for letting me know."

"Do you need someone to order a ride home for you?"

"That's okay. I can walk home."

"If you insist. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Just make sure you let your mother know about how you plan to get home."

"Thank you, Mrs Johnson." And with that, she walked out of the classroom, went to her locker and retrieved her gymnastics clothes. Heading out of the front entrance, she was surprised when she saw that Lincoln was still there. "I thought you guys had gone ahead?"

He turned when he heard her speak to him. "Oh, Mollie told me that you needed to speak with Mrs Johnson, so I said I'd wait behind for you."

She couldn't help but smile at his chivalrous choice. "That's sweet of you, Lincoln. Well, I'm ready if you are."

He nodded to her, and the two of them took off. "So, is everything okay? With Mrs Johnson, I mean."

"Yeah, everything's fine, she just needed to let me know that my mom can't pick me up from gymnastics."

"How come?"

"She had to take the car to the mechanic, so it looks like I'm walking home after practice."

"Sorry to hear that."

She gave a small chuckle. "It's fine. I'm just glad she's okay."

"Well, if you like, I could give my mom a call and see if she could pick us up."

"Really? I mean, I don't mind walking, really."

"It's fine, really. Your mom has picked me up and dropped me off before, so it's only fair that I ask my mom if she can do so."

"Well… if you insist. I mean, I don't want to be a pain."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's really okay."

"But… you haven't told her yet. What if your mom finds out?"

This was something Lincoln hadn't initially considered, so he stopped walking. "Oh…"

Jordan could tell he was less confident now, so she gave him a soft smile. "Lincoln, it's okay. I don't mind walking, really."

He looked at her, thinking about how to respond, before returning the smile. "You know what? No. I insist, I'll call my mom and see if she can pick us up."

This surprised her. "Really? But… if she finds out-"

"Then she finds out." He looked away from her to let his smile drop. "I'll admit, I'm nervous about how she'll react, but… I still feel like I should at least offer. You've done a lot for me so far."

She gave a soft laugh. "I haven't done that much… but, if you insist."

They both laughed at this. "Alright, I'll call my mom. You okay to keep moving while I do?"

She nodded to let him know, and once they started walking again, he pulled his phone out of his bag and began to dial.

* * *

At that time, Rita Loud was in the waiting room at the Royal Woods General Hospital, waiting for the doctor to come out. Her fifth oldest daughter was being examined after her football injury to see how her recovery was going. While she had been working on her novel while waiting, she heard her phone begin to ring. Putting her novel and pen back in her bag, she pulled out her phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hey, mom, it's me," _she heard Lincoln say.

"Oh, hey, Lincoln! Is everything okay?"

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering if you would be able to pick me and Girl Jordan up after practice today."_

"Yeah, I can do that today. I just need to drop Lynn off after she's done with her appointment. Do you mind if I speak to Jordan for a second?"

"_Uh, yeah, sure. Just a second."_

She heard a little fumbling of the phone before a girl spoke on the other end. _"Hello, Mrs Loud?"_

"Hi, Jordan. Just wanted to know everything was alright."

"_Yeah, everything is okay. My mom had to take the car to get looked at, and my dad works late on weekdays, so I was going to walk home, but Lincoln offered. I hope that's okay."_

"Absolutely, dear. Just let me know your address, and where your practice is, so that I can plan my route."

"_Okay. The practice is at the Royal Woods Sports Centre at the north of town, and my address is 72 Marshall Drive."_

"Okay, that's fine, I can do that no problem." She saw the doctor- a thirty-something, brown haired man with a thin beard, wearing a white doctor's outfit and holding a clipboard- begin to emerge out of the nearby door. "Okay, I have to go, so tell Lincoln I'll see you both at half five."

"_Thank you so much."_

"Not a problem, dear. I'll see you then." Hanging up the phone, she put it away and stood up as the doctor approached. "How is she, Doctor Johnson?"

"She's doing great, actually," he replied. "In fact, she can go home without her crutches today."

Rita's smile grew. "That's fantastic."

"Now, I don't want her doing sports for at least another week, and I want her to come back in a week just to be certain, but I've given her a list of exercises to do daily which should help her recovery enough."

"Well, that should stop her from being bored, at least, and it'll save her from trying to use my plates as a frisbee."

The doctor chuckled at the joke. "I can imagine. Well, other than that, I've given her a protective boot just in case, but she's allowed to take it off for showers and for bed. If there are any other concerns, just give me a call."

"I will. Thank you, doctor."

"Not a problem."

While the doctor walked away, Rita saw Lynn Jr coming out of the room the doctor had been in, gently walking with the navy blue protective boot where her cast had been. "Hey, sweetie!" Rita greeted. "Sounds like everything's going well!"

"Yeah, I'll be back on the court in no time!" The thirteen-year-old boasted, to which her mother rolled her eyes. "Still, at least he's actually recommending I do exercise now."

"What sort of exercises?"

"Mostly lunges and step ups, plus a little bit of treadmill. Basic stuff."

"Alright, that's fine. Hey, how about we grab a Flippee on the way home?"

Lynn's eyes lit up. "Sweet!"

"Alright, let's go then." So, the Loud matriarch led her daughter towards the reception. After making sure there was no paperwork that needed signing, they went into the car park and headed towards Vanzilla. Rita made sure that Lynn didn't have any issues getting into Vanzilla, before getting into the driver's seat, shut the door, put on her seatbelt and turned on the engine. "So, Lynn, how's school going?"

"Eh, same as usual, though it sucks that I can't do PE at the moment."

"Well, better not to rush it. Otherwise, you'll just do your body more harm than good."

Lynn shrugged. "I guess, but my friend Polly's had her leg in a cast and has been on crutches for who knows how long, and she's one of my soccer team's star players."

"Your coach allows her to play with a leg in a cast?!"

"Yeah, we don't get it either."

Rita just shook her head. "I hope Lincoln's coach isn't like that when I pick him up later."

This caught the brunette's attention. "Wait, I thought Lincoln got a ride home?"

"Usually, he does, but his friend's mom needed to get her car looked at, so I'm gonna pick them up and drop her off on the way home."

"Ooh! Can I come?"

Rita smirked. "Sorry, sweetie, but I know what you kids are like around Lincoln and other girls. Besides, I'm sure you have homework to do." Her daughter grumbled and crossed her arms. "Don't pout, or I'm not getting Flippee's."

With a sigh, Lynn did so. "Okay. I just wanted to see how Lincoln was doing."

"I'm sure you did, but I'm sure Lincoln would appreciate it if it was just me."

So, for the drive to Flip's, and the ride home after grabbing their Flippee's, the two either chatted about Lynn's schoolwork or how much Lynn was looking forward to getting back to her sports, until eventually getting back. After both of them were out of the van and she locked it, Rita headed into the house. She knew that her husband would be another hour, and that two of her daughters were hanging out with friends, but that didn't stop the house from having it's usual noise levels, as accentuated by the timely sound of an explosion, followed by the yells of "I'm okay!" from her second youngest daughter, which made her shake her head. 'How have we not had more noise complaints from the neighbours?' She pondered. Putting her key in her pocket, she went in her bedroom to lie down for a bit, though as she sat down, she remembered something, so she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone and an address book. Flipping through the pages, she eventually found the correct number and dialled it in her phone. "Hello?" She spoke when they answered. "Is this Mrs Rosato?"

"_Yes," _she replied, _"it is."_

"Hi, it's Rita Loud. I just thought I should call to let you know that I'll be dropping your daughter off when I pick up Lincoln later."

"_Oh, thank you so much, Rita! That's such a relief, I must admit. I hope it's not too much trouble."_

"Not at all, Sarah. You've done me a favour by picking Lincoln up for me, I owe you at least once the same."

"_Well, thank you, again. Do you need my address?"_

"No, that's okay. Your daughter let me know, so I should be there by about quarter to six."

"_That's brilliant, thank you. I'll see you then."_

"Alright. Bye."

* * *

At just after quarter past five, Rita pulled Vanzilla into the parking lot of the sports centre. Checking the clock on the dashboard, she decided, "I might as well head in. Might see if I can watch the last little bit." After getting out of the van and locking the door, she walked in through the front door and approached the receptionist, a young blonde woman with a good physique, wearing a polo shirt and tracksuit pants. "Hi, I was wondering where I could find dodgeball practice?"

The receptionist tilted her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am," she replied, confused. "We don't do dodgeball here."

Rita's confusion, in that moment, mirrored the receptionist's. "I don't understand. My son has been coming here three times a week." The receptionist shrugged, which made Rita suspicious. "Is there an instructor here called Chris?"

"Yes, he's just getting toward the end of a session. You can watch if you like- turn left at the end, then go through the double doors at the end."

"Thank you." As Rita made her way down the hall, her thoughts reached two conclusions- 'either Lincoln lied about what he's been doing, or he sent me to the wrong address. Either way, looks like I'll need to talk with him.'

She quickly saw the double doors ahead and approached them, her ears being met with the sound of kids having fun. Once she was able to see fully, her jaw dropped a bit at the sight of the gymnastics hall, and a bit more when she saw her son running along a track towards a vault before leaping off of it into a foam pit. 'This is what he's been doing?' She mentally pondered. 'I never would have guessed it! Though, given that Lola does ribbon dancing, I can see where he gets a taste of it.' As he climbed out of the foam pit, in spite of how far away he was, she noticed that he seemed to be smiling widely. 'Plus, he seems happy, and that's what I wanted for him to be with all of this. I wonder why he said it was dodgeball, though?'

While she was watching with these thoughts in her mind, another woman, a late-twenties brunette wearing a blue tank top and white trousers, walked up to the mother of the white-haired child. "So, which of these kids is yours?" She asked, catching her attention.

"Me? Mine is Lincoln," she explained, pointing him out, "the boy with the white hair."

"Ah, the new boy! Apparently, he's been quite popular with the girls."

Rita smiled. "Popular with the girls, huh?"

"Yeah, he seems to really get on with them."

"That'll be from hanging around his sisters."

"Well, it's nice to see another boy here who enjoys doing this."

"Yeah," she turned back to watching her son, "I'm sure it is."


	17. Ch 17- Mother Knows Best

"Alright, everyone! Good work today!" Chris announced as he finished the stretches he led the group through. "Go get changed, and I'll see you all on Thursday."

All of the kids got up after this, making their way towards the changing rooms. "Do you know what time your mom will get here?" Jordan asked the white-haired boy.

"I don't think she'll be late," he replied. "I'll check my phone once I'm changed and see if she's arrived."

"Okay. See you in a few minutes, then."

As the two of them, and everyone else, went to get changed, Chris smiled after another successful session. He turned to head towards his own bag so he could grab a drink of water, when he noticed the adults that were waiting for their children- particularly, one he hadn't seen before. With a jogging pace, he headed towards the woman, who noticed his approach. "Excuse me," he greeted the blonde. "I don't think I've seen you here before. Can I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just here to collect my son," she replied.

It didn't take long for him to realise who she meant. "Are you Lincoln's mother?"

She nodded. "That's me. Rita Loud."

He extended a hand, which she grabbed and shook. "Chris. I'm the instructor here. So, I'll admit I'm surprised that this is the first time we've met. Lincoln's been coming here for nearly two weeks now."

"Well, Mrs Rosato was kind enough to drop him off for me previously, but apparently she's had car troubles, so I've decided to return the favour. Though, I'll be honest with you, Chris, I wasn't really expecting… this."

He merely chuckled upon hearing these words. "Let me guess, Lincoln said it was something else?"

She blinked. "That's… exactly right! How did you know?"

"A lot of guys I know who did gymnastics when I started were the same. Toxic masculinity, mostly- dad's who want their sons to be more masculine, though it was more common when I was that age. I was fortunate that my mom was a gymnast, so my parents were accepting of it." He crossed his arms. "So, what did he say it was? Football, basketball, boxing?"

"Actually, Lincoln told me it was dodgeball."

Chris laughed again. "I'll give it to Lincoln, he's imaginative. Never heard that one before. But, look, don't take it personally. I'm sure Lincoln didn't mean any harm by it. He's probably just nervous about how you and your family would respond. Does he have any siblings?"

"Ten sisters." She smirked when he did a serious double take at that, his eyes wide in shock. "I get that a lot."

"Are they older or younger?"

"Five of each."

"I see. Well, again, I can understand why he'd say he was doing something different, but definitely have a talk with him. If he sees you're okay with him doing all of this, then it'll help him with telling the rest of your family, especially his older sisters."

She nodded. "Thank you. So, if you don't mind me asking, was it you who wrote this note?"

She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Chris, who read it before handing back. "That's not actually my handwriting, so I'm guessing Lincoln wrote this. However, I did write a note, and this matches what I wrote. Prices are the same, and those are my contact details, so apart from it being dodgeball, he told you the truth."

"I see." She put the note back in her pocket, though not without making a mental note to talk to Lincoln about it later. "So, what sort of things has Lincoln been doing here?"

While Chris talked to Rita more about the training sessions and how Lincoln had been doing, the boy in question had finished getting changed and emerged from the changing room. Seeing that Girl Jordan wasn't around, he decided to head towards the parking lot, but stopped when he saw his mother talking with Chris, most likely about him. He felt a small shiver down his spine as his nerves began to emerge. 'Looks like I'm going to have to talk to her after all,' he admitted to himself. 'I just hope she isn't too mad about me lying to her.'

While these thoughts began to trouble his mind, he was unaware to the girl approaching from behind. "Ready to go?" Jordan asked him, though when he didn't respond and she saw his face, she grew concerned. Waving a hand in front of his face brought him out of his thoughts, alerting him to her presence. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, it's just…" He looked back over at his mother. "My mom's here."

"Oh?" Looking where he was looking, she realised what he really meant. "Oh."

He sighed. "I'm not looking forward to this conversation."

Sensing that he needed reassurance, she gave him a soft smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be okay, Lincoln. Just be honest with her, and she'll understand."

He smiled, before giving her a nod. "Thanks, Jordan."

So, the two walked towards the Loud matriarch just as Chris was heading off towards reception. Rita, seeing the two sixth-graders approaching, smiled. "Hey, sweetie," she greeted her son. "You have fun today?"

"Yeah," he replied. "This is Jordan, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Loud," Jordan greeted with a wave.

"Call me Rita, dear. So, if you kids are ready, then we'll head off." They nodded, before following the mother Loud out of the sports centre and towards Vanzilla. After both kids got in, with Lincoln graciously allowing Jordan to have The Sweet Spot, Rita got in the driver's seat and prepared to drive off. "It was 72 Marshall Drive, right?"

"That's right," Jordan replied.

"Alright then, kids, here we go."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the van pulled up into the driveway of the destination. The drive there was pleasant enough, with Rita asking questions about how Jordan and Lincoln knew each other and their gymnastics, and Lincoln and Jordan occasionally talking about their plans for the half term break. As Vanzilla slowed to a halt and she turned the engine off, Rita saw Mrs Rosato come out of the front door. "I'm gonna go say hi to Mrs Rosato for a second, Lincoln."

"Okay, mom," he replied, before his mother got out. He then turned to Jordan. "So, uh… guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

She gave him a sympathetic look. "You're really nervous about what your mom is going to say, aren't you?" With a sigh, he ducked his head and nodded. "I thought you weren't as worried about your parents' reaction?"

"I'm not, but… that doesn't mean I'm not nervous, you know? She's my mom. I don't want her to be disappointed in me for doing this."

"She won't." Placing both hands on his shoulders, she got him to look at her. "It's like I said before- just be honest with her. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You had to say that, didn't you?" When she giggled in response, he finally cracked a smile. "Thanks, Jordan."

"Aw, come here." Before Lincoln even realised, she had given the boy a hug, and while he was surprised by the gesture, he returned it for a brief second before they both let go. "Let me know how it goes, okay?"

"I will."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He watched as she got out of the van and returned the wave she gave him as she walked towards the house. It wasn't much longer before Rita finished speaking with Mrs Rosato and returned to the van, shutting the door and buckling up before turning to look at Lincoln. "You okay back there, Lincoln?"

"Y-Yeah, mom."

She nodded to him, then turned to face the front again and turned on the engine. The van rolled out of the driveway and began making it's way towards home. "So, Lincoln." He could tell right away from her voice what was coming next. "When were you planning on telling us that, instead of doing dodgeball, you were actually doing gymnastics?"

Gulping, he pulled on his collar. "Well… I-I'm not sure."

"I see."

He couldn't tell from her tone whether she was angry or disappointed or not- all he could tell was she was serious. "Mom… I'm sorry I lied. I know I shouldn't have… but…"

"But what?"

He looked down, almost in shame. "I wasn't sure how any of you would take it. I mean, it's not exactly a very masculine sport, and-"

"Lincoln." He looked up and into the driver's mirror to get an idea of her expression, though he could only see that she had kept it relatively neutral. "Be honest with me- are you worried the girls are going to tease you for it?" Hesitantly, he nodded, and she did the same. "I thought that might be it."

"I was going to tell you at first, I promise. But, when I got back after my first session, I started thinking about how they would react, and how you and dad would react, and… it scared me." This honestly caught her off guard- not enough to affect her driving, but enough to make her focus on what he said next at the same time. "I feel like the girls don't get my hobbies as it is, and they've laughed at me for a couple of them, so I'm scared this will be the same when I tell them. If it wasn't for that, I may have told you and dad and the girls straight away. Though, at the same time, I may still have been too nervous."

"Well then, why didn't you just pull me and your father to one side and tell us? We would have understood."

"Because I wouldn't want one of the girls to overhear, which is pretty easy to do in our house. I haven't even told Clyde or my their friends at school in case one of my sisters overhear me telling them. The only people that know are Jordan and her friends who also do gymnastics."

"And do they know that we think it's dodgeball?"

He nodded. "The girls don't get it as much but they understand, and Artie told me he did the same when he started."

"I see."

After that, a few seconds of silence filled the air, worrying Lincoln more. As Rita pulled up at a red light, Lincoln broke the silence. "Mom… are you going to make me stop?"

She turned her head in curiosity, seeing her son with his head down and twiddling his thumbs. "What do you mean?"

"Gymnastics. Are you going to make me stop doing gymnastics?"

The mother frowned. "No, Lincoln, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"I just… I-I mean…"

A horn from behind the van indicated to Rita that the light had changed, so she turned around and resumed driving. "Lincoln, I will say this. I'm disappointed that you lied about what you were actually doing, and I know that you rewrote the note Chris had given you." Lincoln's head fell down even lower. "However," the boy's head instantly perked back up, "I'm not going to punish you for either of those, because you didn't do that to disobey us, and instead it was because you were scared of what we would think. I am also not going to stop you from doing gymnastics, because you sought it out yourself," a smile came to her face, "and from what I saw at your practice earlier, you really enjoy doing it. I would only stop you doing it if you weren't really enjoying it, or you were letting it affect your studies, so as long as you don't let that happen, I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to."

For the first time since they dropped Jordan off, Lincoln smiled. "Really?" She nodded, which made Lincoln let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Thank you."

"Of course." It was about half a minute later that they returned home, with Vanzilla pulling up in front of the open garage. Turning off the engine, Rita turned to look at her son again. "So, Lincoln, now that you've told me, I need to know something."

"You mean when I'm going to tell the others, don't you?" He asked.

"Exactly."

Uncertain, he began rubbing the back of his arm. "I don't know. I'm not as worried with dad, especially now that I've talked with you, but…"

She felt sorry for her son, seeing him feel this way. "Lincoln, I know you're concerned with how your sisters will react, so I'm not going to make you tell them now, or tell you when you need to tell them, but please don't leave it too late. That will only make it harder to deal with. At the same time, when you do decide to tell them, if they laugh at you or anything like that, tell me. I will not have your sisters ruin this for you."

"Okay. What about dad?"

"Well, that's up to you. Do you want to tell him now, or would you rather wait?"

He thought for a second, before replying, "would you be able to tell him?"

She gave a soft laugh, before shaking her head. "I'll make sure the girls aren't listening, but I think you should be the one to tell him."

"Worth a shot," he muttered, but still smiled. "Okay. I'll do it after dinner."

"Good boy. Now, come on, dinner's soon, so if you want a shower, you'll have to go now."

He nodded and got of the car, shutting the door behind him. He walked up to the front door, but stopped before he could open it, then turned back around, and as his mother locked the van door, he gave her a hug which made her give a warm laugh. "What's this for?"

"For understanding," he replied, which was reason enough for her to return the hug to her son.


	18. Ch 18- Two Down

About twenty minutes later, the Louds were sat around the dinner table once more. Now, Tuesday was normally turkey loaf day, but after a meeting with his staff at the restaurant, he was trying a new recipe for chicken stir fry, using egg noodles fried in sunflower oil, soy sauce and lemon juice, and free range chicken breast with chopped tomatoes and red peppers, coriander and sesame seeds. "Alright, fam!" He announced as he placed the bowls in front of his family. "Let me know what you think of this, 'cause I need to know by tomorrow whether or not I should put this on the menu." After putting the final bowl down in his spot, he sat down and grabbed his fork. "Dig in!"

The family didn't need telling twice, as they instantly took their first mouthfuls, chewing the food to get a sense of the flavour and texture before finally swallowing. Rita, after she had finished her bite, smiled at her husband. "Honey, it's delicious," she happily told him.

"She's literally right, dad," Lori added, "I love it."

After hearing a couple of others say the same, Lana spoke up next. "Can I leave the tomatoes?"

"No, Lana," Rita sternly replied.

"But they're so gross!"

Her twin looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Really? That's what's gross?"

"But you like tomato on pizza," Lucy pointed.

"Tomato sauce, yeah, not tomatoes. The texture is just, ugh."

"I kinda agree, dad," Lincoln spoke next. "I think the peppers work with the chicken, but not the tomatoes."

"Same here, Pop Star," Luna also said, with Luan nodding next to her.

"Really?" Lynn Sr asked, before taking another bite. Chewing it more critically this time, he waited a second after swallowing before shrugging. "I can't see it myself, but I hear you. I'll make a note of that later. But, other than that, it's okay?"

"It's awesome, dad!" Lynn boasted, making her namesake smile.

"Thanks, kids. Now, let's not let this food go cold, right?"

They all agreed and continued to eat. As the family ate, they talked about how their days had been, regarding school and plans for the week break that was coming up. As he neared the last few bites of his food, Lynn Sr turned to Lincoln and said, "oh, Lincoln, I forgot to ask, how was practice today?"

Lincoln gulped down his current mouthful, and sheepishly smiled. "Oh, um, it was good," he replied. "I'm really enjoying it so far."

"That's great!" The father replied, not noticing his son's nervousness. "It's great that you're enjoying it. Bet it doesn't feel like exercise as much, huh?"

He laughed, to which Lincoln nervously chuckled along. "Uh, yeah. Good one, dad."

Rita noticed her son's tension, so she turned to Lori who was sat next to her and leaned towards her. "Gather your sisters in your room after dinner," she whispered to her eldest daughter.

"Emergency meeting?" Lori whispered back, to which her mother nodded. "Okay."

She then turned to Luan and passed on the message, which led to it being passed among the siblings one by one, until they all knew about the emergency meeting. Once dinner was over, everyone got up and began to head upstairs while Lynn made his way into the kitchen to begin washing up. Before Lincoln could follow his sisters, however, Rita stopped him. "Lincoln, why don't you go help your father do the washing up? Maybe that'll give you the chance to talk with him."

He knew straight away what she meant. "Oh, right. But, what about the meeting?"

She smirked and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why do you think I called for the meeting?" His eyes widened when he got what she meant. "Don't worry, I'll just tell them I'm struggling with getting your father a birthday present, and that you're keeping him distracted."

He gave a small smile. "Thanks, mom."

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead. "You'll be fine, don't worry. Just tell him what you told me, and he'll understand."

"Okay." She nodded to him before walking away, leaving him by himself. 'You can do this,' he reminded himself as he took a deep breath, then made his way into the kitchen where his dad had already started the washing up? "Hey, dad? You mind if I help you?"

He turned his head and smiled at his son. "Sure, champ! Grab a cloth, and you can dry them for me," he replied. Lincoln walked over to where the washed dishes were piled and grabbed a dish cloth, which he then used to start drying up the dishes. "So, champ, something on your mind?"

"How did you know?" Lincoln asked, which made his dad chuckle.

"Lincoln, I've been a father for close to eighteen years. The only time you and your sisters ask to help me with this is if you want something, or you want to talk about something, and whenever you want something, you have a whole presentation prepared." Lincoln felt his cheeks heat up a tinge at how obvious he seemed. "So, what's up?"

"Well… when mom picked me up from practice, I told her something, and I need to tell you too."

"Sounds important. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine, but the truth is… I've been lying to you... about practice."

Lynn stopped what he was doing for a second and looked at his son. "What did you lie about? Are you not actually enjoying it?"

"No, no, I am! I really am, I promise! It's just… well… it's not actually dodgeball that I'm doing."

"Well, if it's not dodgeball, then what is it?" He saw that his son had become more nervous. "Lincoln, you can tell me."

"… it's… gymnastics."

To say Lynn wasn't surprised would be a lie. However, the reaction that he gave was not even remotely close to what Lincoln had expected. "Wait, that's it?" He gave a couple of chuckles. "I thought you were going to say you were bullfighting, or involved in a street fighting ring!"

Lincoln had to blink to make sure he was hearing it right. "Wait… so, you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am, Lincoln! What made you think I wouldn't be okay with it?"

"Well… it was mostly that I think the girls will tease me when they find out, but… at the same time I… I was worried that you would… think less of me."

Lynn Sr saw that Lincoln was looking to the side, ashamed, and it told him just how serious this talk was. Putting down the brush in his hand, he took the dish cloth from Lincoln and put it back on the hook, then looked him in the eyes. "Lincoln, I could never think less of you," he wholeheartedly told his son. "Why would you think that?"

"Well… I remember hearing Mrs Rosato talk about how her husband's friends would've laughed at the idea, and Artie told me that his dad wasn't too happy when he eventually found out." Lincoln looked away again, feeling like he was close tearing up. "I don't know, I just… I was afraid that… that you would…"

"Lincoln… look at me." The white haired child obliged, and while Lynn wasn't smiling, the look he gave his son didn't make him feel worried about what he was about to say. "I don't know what your mother said when she told you, so you may or may not have heard what I'm about to say already, but I'm going to ask you one question, and I need you to be absolutely, one hundred percent honest with me, from the bottom of your heart. Do you enjoy doing gymnastics?"

Lincoln didn't hesitate in nodding. "Absolutely. I don't know how to explain it, but I just feel such… energy, and it makes me feel… alive, I guess."

Lynn smiled. "Then that's all I ever need to hear. Seriously, Lincoln, I'm not going to think less of you for something like this."

"Really? Even if it's… well… not typical for a guy?"

"Lincoln, you're in a family with a six year old who's into plumbing, a four year old PhD, an eight year old who holds funerals for pets, and your old man likes to bake cupcakes in a pink apron. When is anything we do typical?"

Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle, his lips cracking a smile. "I guess."

"Seriously, Lincoln, you should be proud about this. I know you're scared about what your sisters will think, so I won't bust your chops about it, but don't let them stop you from being happy about this."

The white haired child nodded, before giving his dad a hug. "Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, son. Now, go on, I'll finish up here."

"You sure? I don't mind helping with the rest of the dishes."

"Nah, I'm about done, actually. Besides, I'm sure you've got some _homework_ to be getting on with."

Lincoln had completely forgotten about that, so he grinned sheepishly. "Right, yeah. I'll, uh, get right on that."

Lynn smirked, shaking his head softly as his son walked off, before turning back to the sink to finish the washing up. Not long after, Rita made her way into the kitchen, with the sounds of the girls' typical antics building up in the background. "Everything okay in here?" She asked her husband.

"Yeah, everything's good here," he said to his wife as he put down the last wet plate, grabbing the dish cloth to dry his hands.

"So, did you and Lincoln talk?"

"Yeah, we talked. Honestly, I'm surprised he thought that."

"Same here, but I can kind of understand. You and I have both had our share of things we want to keep secret, especially with our families, so I can see why he wouldn't want his sisters to know."

"True, true. Though, do you honestly think the girls will make fun of him for this?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I know they tend to laugh whenever he wears his superhero outfit, but I always thought that was just a bit of a sibling joke."

"Might be something that we need to talk to them about some time."

"Maybe. Still, I'm thankful that he told us the truth."

"Me too. Plus, that explains why he's going three times a week." Lynn chuckled at his joke, though Rita just rolled her eyes. "So, how is Lincoln doing in practice?"

"Well, Chris said that he's doing good. He's getting on with the others, and he's struggling in certain places, but Chris said that's to be expected, and that he's just settling into the groove of things. I didn't see much myself, but Lincoln was definitely having fun."

"Well, when it comes down to it, that's all that matters, right?"

She nodded. "Right."

* * *

At about eight o'clock, Lincoln was finishing up his homework for the next day. While he'd be lying if he said that maths was his best subject, he wasn't a slouch either, so he was able to finish off the last set of problems in his book. "And… done!" He announced to himself, leaning back in his chair after closing the book. Wiping his brow, he exhaled. "Phew. That's one less thing to deal with, and I've got time to relax for a bit." He reached for the issue of Muscle Fish that he bought at the mall on Saturday. "And I can think of no better way than with a new comic while in my undies."

He was quick to make sure his door was shut, but before he could get undressed, he heard his phone vibrate. Picking it up, he saw he had received a message from Jordan, reading:

_Jordan: how'd it go with your mom?_

He slapped his forehead, mentally scolding himself for forgetting that she had asked him to let her know. He put the comic back down for the moment, so he could text her back.

_Lincoln: it went well, actually. She was disappointed that I'd lied about it being dodgeball, but she was okay with, and is more focused that I'm happy with it._

He didn't have to wait long before a reply was sent to him.

_Jordan: that's great! How do you feel now?_

_Lincoln: better, actually. I also told my dad after dinner, so that's two less people to hide it from._

_Jordan: you did?! Well done! How did he react?_

_Lincoln: a lot more positively than I was expecting, to be honest. He seemed pretty cool about it, and he was the same as my mom about me being happy above everything else. Thanks for talking to me before you left, by the way._

_Jordan: I really think you're overestimating how much I've done._

_Lincoln: Seriously. You made me feel a lot better about talking to my mom, so I really think you helped earlier._

_Jordan: Aww, Lincoln! That's sweet of you to say._

He couldn't help but smile at the response, but before he could text her back, she sent another one.

_Jordan: So, now that your parents know, when do you think you'll tell your sisters?_

And just like that, his smile became a frown as he typed out his response.

_Lincoln: I… I don't know. My parents are one thing, but my sisters… it's gonna be tough._

_Jordan: But you guys sound close from everything you've said about them._

_Lincoln: we are, but at the same time, there's things that they've picked on me for and laughed at, and sometimes it's just good humour, but others… I don't think they get that I don't like it when they do that._

He noticed that there was a small delay after that, but Jordan eventually replied again.

_Jordan: Wow… I didn't know you felt that way about this. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up._

_Lincoln: it's okay, you didn't know. You were just trying to help me._

_Jordan: Thanks. So, do you think you will tell them?_

_Lincoln: at the moment, I'm not sure. I know I probably will have to at some point, but at the moment… I'm not ready. I bet this probably sounds dumb, huh?_

_Jordan: it doesn't sound dumb. I'll admit that I don't fully get it, but that's because it's your family, so you'll get it better than I do. I won't bring this up again._

_Lincoln: Thanks._

_Jordan: I'd better go, my mom's calling for me. See you at school?_

_Lincoln: see you at school._

After that, he put his phone down on his desk, then with a smile on his face once more, he grabbed his comic book, laid down on his bed and began to read.


	19. Ch 19- Arcade Antics

The bell rang throughout the school, much to the joy of the elementary students. "Alright, class!" Mrs Johnson said to her sixth grade class. "That concludes our lesson, and the half term! Enjoy your week off," she looked to the side to mumble "I know I will," then looked back to the class, "and I'll see you the first Monday back! Class is dismissed."

Not one of the kids wasted any time in making their way out of the classroom, eager to get out of the school and begin their break. Walking up to his locker, Lincoln opened it up, grabbed the rest of his belongings, and locked the door again. When he saw his friends next to their lockers, he smiled. "You guys ready for tonight?" Lincoln asked.

"Too right!" Rusty replied as he and the others closed their lockers. "I got my stuff ready at home, I just need to get it after we've been to the arcade."

"Same here," Zach added.

"And me," Liam spoke next. "My pa also wants me to bring some fresh food from the farm for breakfast tomorrow, as a thank you to your dads, Clyde."

"That's awesome!" Clyde exclaimed. "My dads will really appreciate that."

"Hey, guys!" They heard Stella say as she approached them. "You guys still going to Gus' now?"

"You know it!" Liam replied. "Your parents say you can come to the sleepover?"

"Actually, they did! My dad was worried about me staying over with five boys, but my mom talked him round."

"That's great! I'll let my dads know on the way to the arcade," Clyde told her.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The boys all agreed, before the six of them made their way out of the school. They began to walk along the sidewalk in the direction of the arcade, when they heard someone shout in their direction. "Hey! Wait up!"

Stopping and turning around, they saw Girl Jordan approach them. "Howdy, Girl Jordan!" Liam greeted, while Zach, Rusty and Clyde gave a small wave.

"Hey, guys," she greeted back, then turned to Lincoln. "Hey, remember what I was talking to you about yesterday after practice?"

"Yeah, the- wait, they said yes?!"

She nodded, and his eyes went wide. "My parents gave the all clear!"

"That's awesome!" He held up a hand, and she gave him a high five as the two laughed happily, much to the confusion of the others.

"You guys gonna tell us what's got you so excited?" Rusty asked, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, right." Jordan turned to the others. "My parents are letting me hold a costume party at our house next Thursday for Halloween, and they've even hired a DJ for the party!"

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Stella gasped.

"I know, right? You guys should totally come too! It'll be great to have you there."

"Yeah, that sounds great! I'd love to!"

"Same here!" Liam added.

Rusty, Zach and Clyde, on the other hand, looked nervous. "I dunno," Zach replied. "What if it ends up like… Y'know…"

Jordan gave a small giggle behind her hand. "Guys, it's fine. That's the past. It's a costume party, not a pool party, so you won't be stuck in your undies, there's no hairspray to make you lose your hair, and I'll make sure to keep the hot sauce separate from the ketchup so you don't have an allergic reaction again." The three boys blushed as the memories came back to them, with Lincoln blushing a bit as well. Stella, confused by this, turned to Liam.

"I'll tell you about it later," he replied, and her only response was to shrug.

"So, what do you say, guys?" Jordan asked again. "You in?"

They looked at each other, then shrugged, and turned back to her. "We'll be there," Clyde answered whilst Rusty and Zach nodded, which made Jordan's smile grow.

"Sweet! Thanks, guys. I promise, you'll love it. So, where are you guys headed now?"

"We're headed to Gus' Games And Grub," Lincoln told her.

"You've mentioned that place a few times, now that I think about it."

"Well, it's probably our favourite place to hang out in Royal Woods." His eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Hey, why don't you join us so you can see for yourself?"

She shook her head. "Thanks, but I'll have to pass. I need to get home, my sister wants to spend some time with me."

"That's cool. I wouldn't want to keep any of my sisters waiting if she wanted to hang out with me."

She smirked. "Yeah, but you have ten sisters to deal with. I'm surprised they don't have you like a slave there." They both laughed at the joke. "In all seriousness, I do need to get going, so maybe I'll join you another time. You gonna be at practice on Sunday?"

"Yep. Guess I'll see you there."

"Sure thing." She then looked at the others. "See ya later, guys!"

"See ya!" They replied as she walked off.

"Right, we better get going before Gus' gets packed," Lincoln spoke up again. "Lets go!"

Lincoln led the way towards the arcade, not noticing that the guys were a little bit further behind. "Why did he ask Girl Jordan to join us?" Rusty asked, keeping his voice down so Lincoln wouldn't hear him.

"Yeah, this is supposed to be our thing!" Zach complained. "Why would he want her to come too?"

"I get that they're friends too and all," Liam reasoned, "so maybe he were just tryna be nice?"

"But they're already hanging out three times a week at dodgeball!" Rusty countered. "Why would he want her joining us for our thing?"

"Not to mention the fact he's starting sitting with her at lunch on Monday's," Zach added.

"It's almost as if he'd rather spend time with her than us," Rusty finished bitterly.

Clyde, who had been quiet, felt his heart clench a bit at these words. 'He… he wouldn't, would he?' He questioned to himself. 'I know I said it on Monday, but I thought that was just me being paranoid… was I actually right?'

"Hey, guys!" Lincoln called out, gaining their attention. "You okay back there?"

"Y-Yeah, we're fine, Lincoln!" Clyde called back, then turned to the others. "Let's Not think like that. We're here now, so let's just go have fun at the arcade." As they ran ahead to catch up with Lincoln, the other boys agreed and did the same, not noticing the questioning glare Stella gave them.

'What was that about?'

* * *

Eventually, the group of six arrived at the familiar arcade. The exterior had a bit of a retro look, with a green and white chequered wall and a red and black lettered 'Gus' Games And Grub' sign above a red awning, but the interior was just as retro. The floor was black and white like a chessboard, the walls were green and light yellow stripes, and there were red booths with black tables. Even some of the games were retro, with titles like _Caterpillar, Meteors _and _Monkey John_, but still had some newer games to make sure that it still stayed relevant.

Lincoln walked up to the counter with the others just behind him, and he saw a worker dressed in the arcade's uniform of a red, white, yellow and green striped shirt and matching bucket hat, as well as blue jeans. "Hey, what's up, guys?" He said with a smile. "Been a while since you guys swung by here."

"Hey, Jared," Lincoln greeted back, as did the others. "We figured we'd wait until now so we could celebrate half term."

"Well, I hope you're ready to play." He then adopted a smirk on his face. "You've lost a few of your records since you last came here."

Lincoln smirked back as he pulled out his money and placed it on the table. "Not for much longer."

Jared simply chuckled, before taking the money and exchanging it for quarters. The others gave him their money one by one and he did the same for them, turning their bills into quarters. "Alright, kids, there you go. Have fun!"

"Thank you!" The kids turned around and looked at each other. "So," Stella asked, "what should we do first?"

"Well, Zach owes me a rematch at Zombie Snipers 3!" Lincoln pointed out with a daring look at the redhead.

"That's fine by me," Zach shot back. "Been a while, could do with beating your butt again."

"I think I'm gonna start on the air hockey table," Rusty spoke next. "Who fancies a match?"

"I'll take you up on that," Stella told him.

Liam turned to Clyde. "Wanna see if we can beat Dual Draconian?"

"Let's do it!" Clyde replied.

So, the kids went off to their separate machines. After putting in their quarters for the air hockey table, Stella took the puck and started the match, her and Rusty sending the puck back and forth across the table with each 'clack' resonating throughout the arcade. Eventually, after fading going one direction, Stella ricocheted the puck off one side of the table and into Rusty's goal. She gave a small cheer while Rusty bent down to collect the puck and put it back into play. "So," she said to the redhead, "what was all that about before?"

"What are you talking out?" He questioned, serving the puck for the next point.

"You, Liam, Zach and Clyde. Before, when we were leaving school, you were talking to each other about something without me and Lincoln. What was that about?"

"Oh, that was nothing."

She looked at him skeptically after she scored again. "Nothing?"

"Yeah, just… guy talk, you know? Nothing, really."

"Then, why wasn't Lincoln part of your 'guy talk'? He's a guy too."

"Well, it didn't really concern him, and he had already gone ahead, so it didn't really make sense to bother."

She didn't even realise that he had scored in her goal, she was so dubious of his 'explanation'. "What would the four of you talk about that doesn't involve Lincoln? The five of you are best friends!"

"Hey, we don't do everything together! I don't join Zach and Clyde when they go antiquing. Liam doesn't join me when I take my bike for a ride."

"But when did you four start talking behind Lincoln?" Before Rusty could respond, she narrowed her eyes at him. "We're you talking about Lincoln behind his back?!"

"What?! N-no, of course not! Seriously, Stella, it's not important. It's just some guy stuff that Lincoln wouldn't care for. Now, come on, it's your serve."

She knew that he was lying, but she could also tell that she wasn't going to get the truth out of him at that time, so she sighed and bent down to grab the puck. 'I'll try and talk with Clyde later,' she mentally noted. 'Maybe he'll be a bit more honest about it.'

Meanwhile, Zach and Lincoln were heavily engaged in their Zombie Sniper battle, going back and forth in the scores until the final zombie fell, and the words **WINNER** appeared on Zach's screen.

"Dang it!" Lincoln sighed whilst Zach fist pumped in victory. "How are you so good at this game?"

"Link, it's zombies- if the game's got zombies, I know every trick in the book," Zach taunted. "It's like you with the Muscle Fish game."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, I'm gonna hit the dance battle machine. You fancy a game?"

"Nah, it's not really my game. I'll play you at something else in a bit, though."

"Okay." While Zach had a look for which machine he would use next, Lincoln made his way towards what was his favourite machine in the arcade, Dance Battle. He'd played it so often that he new every song on the machine, and had pretty much perfected the steps for his favourites. Stepping on to the machine, he began scrolling through the songs. "Hmm… I think I'll try this song for once."

While he selected the song, he didn't notice that Stella had stepped into the second dance pad. "What we dancing to this time?" She asked. Looking at the screen, she widened her eyes a little. "I don't think I know this one."

"It's not one of my favourites," Lincoln admitted, "but I fancied a bit of a challenge."

"Fair enough." He pressed play after she inserted her quarter, and while the loading screen appeared, she turned to the white haired boy. "Hey, is everything okay between you and the guys?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh, I think so? Why do you ask?"

"Something seems up with them, and I was wondering if you knew."

He tapped his chin in thought, then shrugged. "Can't say that I know what, but I'm sure it's nothing. Now, come on, the game's starting."

"Hmm…"

* * *

After an hour of good gaming fun and a pizza split between them, Lincoln and the others headed to Flip's for some Flippees, before going their separate ways to collect their things for the sleepover. As Lincoln walked through the front door to his home, he was met with the usual sounds of his sisters' chaos, with guitar riffs, arguments and an explosion greeting his ears. Ignoring this for now, he made his way upstairs, being careful not to get hit by the twins driving past in Lola's princess car. He walked into his room, where he saw his overnight bag hanging from his chair, so he grabbed it. He saw Bun Bun lying on his bed, and thought, 'not tonight, buddy. I don't mind having you with me at home, but not when the guys are around.'

Walking back towards the stairs, he saw the twins' car coming back towards him, so with a slight yelp, he leapt over it, unconsciously performing a split jump before landing firmly on his feet.

"Move it, Lincoln!" Lola yelled as she drove back into her room, causing him to roll her eyes.

"Hey, Lincoln!" Lynn called to him. "Where'd you learn to jump like that?"

He gulped, before thinking of an excuse. "Uh, well… I-I guess I remembered it from… your parkour lessons?"

She stared at him for a couple of seconds, making him worried that she didn't believe him, before she smirked and said, "if you think that's how parkour works, then I'm gonna have to reteach you what I know, little bro."

She chuckled, punching him on the shoulder while he nervously chuckled back. "Right! I'll, uh, keep that in mind."

"Sure thing! Once I'm given the all clear, I'll need to get back into it myself, so it'd be awesome to have you working out with me! Might even help you with dodgeball, you know?"

"Maybe, Lynn. Anyway, I'm heading to Clyde's. See you tomorrow, Lynn."

She waved to him before he made his way downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed it was empty, so he walked into the living room. Approaching the door to his parents' bedroom, he knocked on it.

"They're not in there," he heard Lori say from the couch, turning around to see his technophile sister texting away. "Dad was missing some stuff for dinner, so they went to the store."

'So that's why Vanzilla wasn't in the driveway,' he realised. "Well, can you let them know when they get back that I've headed to Clyde's."

"Fine."

He rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "Thanks, Lori."

She waved him off as he went out the front door, not taking her eyes away from her screen. After a few minutes of texting, she saw that she was receiving a call, and smiled giddily as she saw who it was, answering immediately. "Hey, Boo Boo Bear!" She answered. After her boyfriend replied, her smile fell a bit. "Lincoln? Why do you..." She began to scowl. "Oh, really?"


	20. Ch 20- Sleepover At Clyde's

**(A/N: first off, sorry about the late upload. Wanted to get Loud and Proud finished, but **

**I'll do my best to be consistent with uploads from now on.**

**Also, I need to send a huge, huge, HUGE thank you to Marius Wales, who was kind enough to create a cover for this story, and I absolutely ADORE it, so thank you so much! If you guys love it as much as I do, then I recommend you check him out on DeviantArt.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

Just before six, Lincoln found himself approaching the McBride residence, the yellow mailbox signposting its location. The McBride's had a fairly fancy house, with white walls, a blue roof, an orange front door and a black and white tiled chimney. There was only one floor, but the house was quite wide. The front lawn was as neatly mowed as always, either side of the driveway leading to the garage to the right of the front door.

Walking up to the front door, Lincoln rang the bell and stood there for about fifteen seconds before the door opened up, with Howard standing on the other side. "Hello there, Lincoln!" He greeted.

"Hey, Mr McBride," he greeted back. "I hope I'm not late."

"Not at all, you're right on time. Clyde and the others are in the living room, come on in."

"Thank you." He followed the ginger man into the house, closing the door behind him. Once inside, Lincoln went into the living room, seeing the fancily decorated room. There were paintings on the wall- whether they were genuine or printed, Lincoln never asked- a cream carpet on the floor which met the black wooden floor that held the dining table by the large window, and a blue curved couch with orange pillows, upon which Clyde, Stella, Liam and Zach were sat. "Hey, guys."

They all looked over at him and smiled. "Hey, you're here!" Stella greeted s he walked over.

"Yeah, I would've gotten here sooner, but Lola almost ran me over with her princess car." He could see she was confused by this, but she simply shrugged it off. "So, where's Rusty?"

As soon as he said that, they heard the doorbell ring. "I'm guessing at the front door," Zach jested. They all chuckled while Mr McBride answered the door, returning a moment later with Rusty, who was sweating and panting.

"Sorry I'm… late, guys…" he gasped, putting his hands on his knees as he doubled over.

"I'll get you some water, Rusty," Howard offered.

"Thank you."

While Howard took off for the kitchen, the others looked at Rusty with bewilderment. "Why are you so tired?" Stella asked.

"Other than being out of shape," Liam whispered to Zach, who stifled a snorting laugh.

"My dad, he… he made me help him with… with his shop, so… I took my bike here."

"Well, we're all here now," Clyde spoke up, "so why don't we start the sleepover?" They all voiced their agreement. "Well, I've got a couple of ideas for what to do later, but for now, why don't we watch some TV for a bit? It's the season finale of Operation Dessert Storm."

While Lincoln, Rusty, Zach and Stella all smiled, Liam rolled his eyes. "I still don't understand what's so good about that show," he muttered.

"Come on, Liam, lighten up," Stella told him. "It's a good show, and the food looks delicious."

The farm boy scoffed. "You compare any of that to the great food my ma could cook with the stuff from our farm, it'd be like comparing a fancy restaurant to the school's fish tacos."

"Thanks for that image, Liam," Lincoln groaned, grasping his stomach as he and the others winced in disgust.

"Here you go, Rusty," Howard said as he returned with a glass of water for the tall boy, his husband Harold not far behind.

"Thanks," Rusty replied, accepting the glass before drinking from it.

As Clyde turned on the TV, Harold noticed what Clyde had put on. "Oh, right!" He exclaimed. "It's the season finale, right?"

"Yep!" Clyde told his dad. "It looks like it could go either way this season, too."

"We'd better hurry to our room," Howard suggested. "We don't want to miss the reveal of the challenge."

"Why don't you join us?" Stella asked.

"Oh, that's sweet of you, Stella, but we don't want to interfere in your sleepover."

"We don't mind," Lincoln added, before Liam, Zach and Rusty all shrugged and voiced their agreement, which touched the two men.

"Well… why not? Thank you, kids."

* * *

About an hour later, the six kids and two men were on the edge of their seats as the host of the show stood in front of a pedestal with a silver trophy on it. Either side of him were the two contestants, a young brown haired man in a white dress shirt and black trousers, and a muscular man with a shaved head and a black moustache in a camouflage tank top and a matching army hat and cargo pants.

"Tonight's winner," the host declared, "and this year's Operation Dessert Storm champion… is…" Lifting up a silver envelope, he opened it and pulled out the card within, reading it out loud, "… Sergeant Derricks of the American National Guard!"

As the army sergeant saluted with tears in his eyes, and his competitor applauded him, the viewers sat in the Loud House had mixed reactions to the result.

"But those eclairs looked so delicious! How did he not win?" Lincoln exclaimed.

"Perhaps," Harold countered, "but the sergeant's cannolis look divine, and have such variety. I think that's what won the judges over."

"I still say my pa could whip up something better with what we grow on the farm," Liam sustained with crossed arms.

"Well, when your dad goes on Operation Dessert Storm, let us know," Stella quipped with a smirk, eliciting chuckles from their friends.

"Well, this was fun," Howard said as he and his husband got to his feet, "but we'll be heading downstairs for a while. Do you kids need anything before we do?"

"Actually, dad, can I grab the snacks for tonight?" Clyde asked.

"Of course, Clyde."

Whilst Clyde followed his dads into the kitchen, the others began talking amongst themselves, before Lincoln heard his phone go off, so he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen before chuckling to himself, confusing the others. "What's so funny?" Rusty asked.

"Oh, it's… it's nothing," Lincoln replied, pocketing his phone again. "Just a dumb meme Girl Jordan sent me."

While the three boys frowned a little, Stella put a hand on her hip and smirked. "Well, what is it?"

"It's kind of an inside joke, really."

"Go on, show us!"

"Well, alright."

He put the meme on his screen, and turned it around to show the others, but after a few seconds, all Stella did was squint her eyes. "Yeah, I don't get it."

"Told you."

So, while the white haired boy turned off his phone and put it away, Clyde and his dads returned with the snacks for the rest of the sleepover. "Alright, kids," Howard said as he put the bowl of chips down on the table, "if you need us, we'll be downstairs."

"Thanks, Mr McBride! Thanks, Mr McBride!" They replied before he took off.

"So, what should we do next, Clyde?" Lincoln asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could play a game or two for a bit," he offered.

"Really?" Stella replied. "We didn't play enough games at the arcade?"

Clyde chuckled. "I was going to suggest a board game."

"I dunno, buddy," Liam said doubtfully. "Remember when we tried that last time?"

"Oh, come on!" Zach replied. "It was not that big of a deal."

"Zach, you flipped the board like it was a hay bale."

Lincoln, Rusty and Clyde were all stifling laughter, much to the redhead's embarrassment. "I told you, I got cramp."

"So, I'm guessing board games are off the table," Stella reasoned, which made Lincoln groan.

'That was worse than one of Luan's puns,' he thought.

"Well, why don't we play truth or dare?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Rusty argued, his cheeks heating up. "Last time we did that, I accidentally went outside in my underwear and got attacked by a squirrel."

Stella did her best to hide her laughter behind her hands, but couldn't hold it back, which only made Rusty's blush more intense. "Well then, what else can we do?"

A lightbulb then went off in Lincoln's head. "How about instead, we play a card game, and the winner of each round gets to ask someone something?" He suggested, to which the others took a second to think before smiling.

"That sounds like a great idea, Lincoln!" Stella replied.

"Yeah! I'll go grab a deck of cards!" Clyde added.

"We better move this to a bigger table then," Rusty said, grabbing one bowl of chips. While Clyde went off to find the cards, the other moved their snacks onto the dining room table and took their seats around it. Clyde returned a moment later, sitting at the available chair and putting down a deck of Ace Savvy cards in the middle. "So, how about we play some poker?"

"No way," Clyde refuted, shaking his head. "If my dads see us playing poker, they'll think you guys have gotten me into gambling, and that you're a bad influence on me! And then, they'll-"

"Clyde, snap out of it!" Lincoln told him, shaking his shoulders. "Take it easy, buddy, you're spiralling. Just breathe." Clyde nodded and proceeded to do so, leaving Lincoln to turn to Rusty. "Why don't we play some Blackjack instead?"

Rusty shrugged. "That works for me."

The others voiced their agreement, and began to play, with Clyde dealing for the first round. After taking two cards each, they took it in turns to either take more cards or stick with what they had, with Rusty being the only one to go bust. After revealing what they all had, it was Stella who was the winner, with her three cards adding up to nineteen. "Alright, that's a win for me!" She cheered as everyone returned their cards to the dealer. "Okay, then. I think I'm going to ask Rusty to tell us, what was the worst thing that happened when you tried to pick up a girl?"

He grumbled to himself, feeling everyone's eyes on him while he looked down at the table. "Well… there was one girl who… laughed in my face, before throwing her drink at my pants."

The boys all winced at the story, while Stella simply smirked. "Maybe next time, don't try cheesy pickup lines that are more of an insult than a compliment."

"Hmm… Whatever. Can we just play the next round?"

She gave a small laugh, then nodded. Clyde passed the cards to Zach, who then dealt the cards for the next round. After Liam, Rusty and Clyde all went bust, the other three revealed their cards, showing Lincoln as the winner. "Alright! I think I'm going to ask Stella this time."

"Go for it," she told him as everyone handed Zach back their cards.

"Let's see… Ooh! What would be the thing that you miss the most from your old school?"

"That's a good question, Linc!" She put her hand to her chin as she thought about what her answer would be, a smile gracing her lips when it came to her. "I think it would be one of our teachers, Mr Erickson. He always had these great stories, and my favourite was one about a high school teacher he taught. The guy was a smoker, and when he had the lighter with him, he was playing with it under the desk, and accidentally lit himself on fire." This brought out a range of reactions, with absolute horror from Clyde, shock from Lincoln and full on laughter from Zach, Liam and Rusty. "Yeah, he was a great teacher."

"How does he compare with the teachers at Royal Woods?"

"I don't think you get to ask two questions," she joked, prompting him to roll his eyes. "But, yeah. The teachers here are good teachers, but I preferred his stories."

Lincoln nodded, then turned to Zach who passed him the cards. "Okay, looks like I'm dealing for this round." He gave everyone their two cards, and after both he and Rusty had busted- the latter of whom complaining that "the deck is rigged", to which Stella shot him down by saying "no, you're just bad"- the four left in the game revealed their cards, and Zach smirked upon seeing he was the only one with a blackjack.

"Sweet," he said to himself, before looking around the table. "Okay, I'm gonna ask… Liam. Remember the sleepover we had at your farm, where you tricked us into thinking we ate Virginia? Have you ever actually killed a pig that you beat in a wrestling match?"

Stella went bug eyed. "Wait, what?!"

Liam, however, simply guffawed. "Naw, that was just payback for ditching me, I swear! My pa has reared pigs for their meat, sure, but we've never dealt with that, and especially not over a dumb wrestling match."

The others exhaled in relief, except for Stella who was still confused. "Wait, you wrestle your pig? Isn't that… inhumane?"

"Naw, it's friendly, really. Helps her to keep in shape, and it doesn't actually hurt her."

This settled her mind on the matter. "Okay." She turned to Lincoln, who then handed her the cards, which she dealt out. Once everyone was finished taking new cards, no one had busted, and after everyone revealed their cards, Clyde was the winner, with his cards adding up to twenty. "Alright, Clyde. What will you ask?"

"Well… I do have one question, but… I'm not sure if I should ask it."

Lincoln tilted his head a little. "How come?" He asked, noticing that Clyde seemed nervous. "Come on, Clyde, you can be honest with me."

"Yeah, Clyde, go on! You can ask it," Stella insisted, with the other boys doing the same. The nervous boy took a drink from his glass, gulping it down before looking down at the table.

"Okay… I'll ask it. The question I want to ask you, Lincoln, is… why have you been spending so much time with Girl Jordan?"


	21. Ch 21- Truth

Silence had filled the open room of the McBride household. The moment that Clyde had asked that question, the smiles on everyone's faces had dropped, leaving a thick tension between them. 'I knew I shouldn't have asked it,' he regretfully thought, almost instantaneously.

"Wow, uh… didn't expect that," Lincoln admitted. "How come you, uh… you want to ask that?"

Clyde was silent for a couple of seconds, but replied eventually, knowing that he couldn't go back now. "You… you've spent a lot of time with her recently. More than you did before."

A small laugh escaped Lincoln's lips. "Well, yeah, she's the one who told me about-"

"I'm not… talking about dodgeball practice." Lincoln shut his mouth, curious to see where this was going, not noticing how the other boys were all looking away from the conversation. "I mean, sitting with her at lunch, going to the mall. You never did that with her before." Lincoln nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I, I shouldn't have asked. It was stupid-"

"No, no, it's okay." He took a drink from his glass, before setting it down and speaking again. "Well, it was Girl Jordan who asked me to sit with her and the others at lunch, and the same for going to the mall last Saturday. I guess, since I've started going to dodgeball, I've gotten to know her a little better."

"… is that why you asked her if she wanted to join us at the arcade?"

Lincoln turned his head towards Rusty, surprised by the redhead's words, and what sounded like bitterness behind them. "Where did that come from?" When he didn't respond or even look at him, the white haired boy looked at the others and noticed that something was up. "Okay, guys, what's going on?"

Stella, who had silently put it together in her mind, gave an angry look at the boys. "Is this what you guys were talking about when we were heading to the arcade?" She inquired, and though they didn't speak in response, the slight shift in their expressions told her all she needed to know. "I can't believe you guys! I thought you were over this!"

The Loud boy turned to the girl. "Wait, do you know what this is about?"

"It's nothing, Lincoln," Zach muttered, causing Stella to glare at him.

"Oh, cut it, Zach."

"Stella, it's really not worth all this," Liam insisted.

"Guys, please!" Lincoln pleaded. "Just tell me what's going on."

"They're jealous!" Stella finally snapped. "They think that you'd rather hang out with Girl Jordan than with us!"

Lincoln's eyes couldn't have widened more if he tried, the sheer absurdity and shock of the notion catching him completely off guard. "That… That has to be a joke! Right, guys?" When he didn't get a response, he turned to the others, the deathly silence worrying him as he observed the grimaces on their faces, and with this he knew that something was wrong. "… okay, guys, seriously… what's going on here?"

Clyde looked down, twiddling his thumbs. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question," he muttered.

"Clyde, guys, please, it's okay. You can talk to me, just… tell me. What's going on?"

Clyde, though he didn't want to make things anymore awkward, could tell that things were going to be awkward either way, and seeing the look in Lincoln's eyes, he felt his resolve weakening. Looking towards the others, Zach and Rusty didn't react, but Liam saw Clyde pleading to him, and the farm boy gave in with a little nod, before turning to Lincoln. "Thing is, Lincoln," he began to explain, "we're rather surprised you've been spending so much time with them. We didn't mind the first time you sat with them at lunch, since you'd just started going to dodgeball, but then there was the second lunch that you sat with them for, not to mention the mall trip. It was starting to bother us a bit, which was why we were really looking forward to today."

"Yeah, Linc," Zach spoke up. "This is the first time we've hung out outside of school since you've been going to dodgeball. And yeah, you only hung out with them for two lunchtimes, but you always seemed to be laughing more with them."

"That's why," Rusty added, "when you asked Jordan if she wanted to join us at the arcade, it just… it felt like you'd rather hang out with her than with us."

If Lincoln hadn't been shocked before, he absolutely was now. His friends had given off no sign to him that they felt this way, until just moments ago, so either he hadn't been paying attention or they had been hiding it so that he wouldn't feel bad like he did right then. Before he could say anything to his friends, however, Stella had something to say.

"What is wrong with you guys?!" She yelled, her arms raised. "He's your best friend! Do you really think he's going to just cast you aside like that?! Just because he's found something new, doesn't mean he's going to just forget about you, and-"

"That's okay, Stella," Lincoln insisted, holding a hand up to his friend. "I appreciate it, but I can handle this."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, "sorry", before leaning back in her chair.

"It's okay." He then turned to his friends. "Stella's right, guys. I know it's a bit of a change, but you guys are my best friends. I wasn't going to forget you like that." He could see them looking away regretfully as he said this. "But… I'm sorry I made you think that I was." Everyone looked at him once again, not expecting to hear these words come from him. The Loud boy was now gazing at his hands on the table. "I never meant to make you think that I didn't want to hang out with you guys. I wasn't expecting to hang out with Jordan as much as I had, but then she asked me to join her and the others at lunch, and at the mall. I have enjoyed hanging out with them, but it's not the same as hanging out with you guys. I promise."

A few seconds further of silence allowed everyone to reflect- on what they had thought before, on what had been said just then, on everything that led up to this. While Lincoln was still staring at his hands, the other boys were feeling guilty for how they had acted, none more so than Clyde. He and Lincoln had been best friends for most of their lives, and had been through a lot together, yet he had failed to trust in their friendship, and this had let to this… implosion within their friend group.

"Lincoln… I'm so-"

"I need to tell you guys something," Lincoln interrupted, finally averting his gaze from his hands. Clyde opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off again. "I know, but I really need to say this first, because… I've been lying to you guys."

Stella blinked, just as surprised as the others. "Lincoln, what do you-"

"I haven't really been going to dodgeball training. I've been going to gymnastics training instead. I haven't told you guys until now because I don't want my sisters to know the truth yet, and this is the first time I could tell you without risking any of them hearing… but that's not an excuse. I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend recently." Looking at his friends, he saw that they didn't have an immediate response, so he stood up and told them, "I'm gonna go get some air," then walked off towards the front door, stepping outside and shutting it behind him. The others, still caught off guard by the confession, were silent as Harold reappeared from downstairs.

"Everything okay up here?" He asked out of concern. "I thought I heard shouting a moment ago."

"Y-Yeah, dad," Clyde replied, clearing his throat. "We, uh… were just really into our card game."

"Oh, I see. And, where did Lincoln go?"

"He wanted some air," Stella explained, "so he just stepped outside for a second."

"Oh! Oh, okay. I'll just leave you to it then."

"Thanks, dad," Clyde told him as he walked away, then turned his head in time just to see Stella getting up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna see if Lincoln is okay," she responded, making her way to the front door. After opening it, she saw Lincoln was sat on the front step, so she shut the door and sat down next to him. "You okay?" He nodded, keeping his gaze towards the street ahead. "So… gymnastics, huh? How'd that happen?"

"Well, I didn't lie about Girl Jordan telling me about it," he answered. "Really, the only lie was saying it was dodgeball instead of gymnastics."

"I see. So, how come you don't want your sisters to know yet?"

He rubbed the back of his neck as a frown appeared on his face. "I'm… not sure how they'll take it. Some I'm less worried about than others, but… all ten of them… it's gonna be tough to handle."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, they have a tendency to laugh at some of my other hobbies. It's not too bad sometimes, but… other times, they don't get how they're going too far. You know what I mean?"

"Kind of. I mean, I don't have siblings, but I can imagine what you mean. So, what about your parents? Do they know?"

"I mean, they didn't at first, but I told them earlier this week after my mom found out. Only reason I didn't tell them straight away was because it's impossible to hide something in our house, especially with my younger sisters. Lisa's scientific curiosity, as she calls it, means she doesn't fully get privacy, Lola is the biggest snitch there is, and Lucy can pop up absolutely anywhere."

"Geez… that sounds… hectic." With a soft shake of her head, she looked back at Lincoln. "What about your older sisters?"

"They're not much better. It's already bad enough that they think I'm going out with Girl Jordan, just because she's a girl. Seriously, anything involving me and a girl, they reach the same conclusion, no matter who the girl is or if they're seeing anyone or not."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. "Seriously? Were they like that with me?"

"Yep, and Girl Jordan, and Mollie, and Ronnie Anne, and Cristina, and pretty much any girl who goes or used to go to our school." A sigh escaped his lips as his head tilted down towards his feet. "Still… I don't know when or how I'm going to tell them the truth. I know I will have to, but… I don't know when or even if I'll be ready to."

From her angle, Stella thought the boy looked dejected. His body posture and facial expression showed how heavily this weighed on him, so she gave him a slight nudge on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey," she told him with a slight smile, "don't worry so much. They're your family, so they'll care more that you've found something you enjoy, right?"

Lincoln gave a small chuckle. "You're sounding like my dad when I told him."

She simply smiled more and said, "then you know I'm right."

He smiled for a second, but it then faded. "You all make it sound so easy… I mean, on paper, sure. I could just get my sisters together, tell them the truth and everything be okay. They might be happy for me, and even want to see me practice. But in practice… it's so much harder to do. I have to face them head on, find a way to pluck up the courage to tell them and do it. There's so much that can go wrong, and that's without even thinking about how they'll react, but if they do laugh, and they react in the way I think they will… things just won't be the same."

Stella nodded. "You're right, maybe they will laugh, and maybe they'll be horrible to you… or maybe they'll be incredibly supportive, and it'll bring you guys closer together." She could tell from his face that he was considering that possibility, but didn't fully believe it. "But, hey. Whatever happens, I know you'll find a way to tell them."

Finally, he smiled again. "Thanks, Stella."

"No problem, Lincoln. Now, come on, it's getting cold out here." He gave a small laugh as the two stood back up. Heading inside and shutting the door, they saw the guys were waiting for them, deep frowns on their faces. "Uh, what's going on?"

"We've been talking, and… we owe you an apology, Linc," Rusty spoke up.

"We shouldn't have acted like that," Zach added, "and we should've known you weren't going to forget about us."

"Honestly, it just kind of surprised us," Clyde told him next. "One week, you never hang out with them, and the next, you do. You know?"

"Don't worry, guys," Lincoln replied. "I get it. I can't honestly say I wouldn't have reacted the same way if it was the other way around, and one of you guys had started hanging out with someone new."

"Really?" Stella asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Lincoln just shrugged.

"So, Lincoln," Liam asked, rubbing his elbow, "we, uh, we cool?"

The Loud child gave a nod as he approached the guys, holding out a fist. "We're cool."

The guys all smiled, before giving Lincoln a bro fist each. "So," Clyde spoke up, "there's still a bit of time before I planned to put the film on, so why don't we play cards for a bit longer?"

"Sounds good to me," Stella replied, with the others nodding.

"What film did you get?" Liam asked.

"I was at a charity shop and I found a DVD of the Ace Savvy movie from the sixties."

"No way!" Lincoln said in shock. "That's, like, super rare!"

"I know, right?! Now, come on. Let's play for a bit more, and we'll watch it after."

Everyone agreed and returned to their game of blackjack, happy that the tensions between them had been overcome.


	22. Ch 22- Back Home

After a fun night at the sleepover, Lincoln woke up the next morning in his sleeping bag, surrounded by his friends in theirs. Blinking the sleep away, he gave off a mild yawn and stretched his arms, then sat up. He saw that his friends were still asleep. 'I better take advantage of this,' he thought with a smirk. Unzipping his sleeping bag, he got out and stood up, then grabbed his wash bag and carefully manoeuvred around his friends towards the hallway. He could hear the McBride's talking in the kitchen, which meant that the bathroom was free, so he sauntered his way down the hallway and entered the bathroom. Once the door was shut and locked, he decided that he didn't need to use the toilet at that moment, so he simply brushed his teeth, his mind drifting back to the previous day's events. 'It was nice hanging out with the guys and Stella again, and I'm glad we managed to fix everything between us,' he thought.

Once he was finished brushing his teeth, he spat, rinsed his brush and washed his face, then put his brush and toothpaste back in his wash bag. As he gave his reflection in the mirror a once over, he flicked up his turkey tail and grinned. "Looking good," he said to himself, then went deadpan. "Man, if my sisters were here, they'd roast me for that."

As he left the bathroom, his mind went back to the ten Loud girls, and the truth he was hiding from them. 'How am I supposed to tell them?' He pondered. 'Do I just come out with it? Gather them for a sibling meeting? Prepare a presentation?' He shook his head at that last thought. 'No, they'd get bored and just demand I come out with it, and that would make me panic. Still, how am I supposed to do that?'

As he was walking, he didn't realise that there was someone else in the hallway, and accidentally bumped into them. After landing on his butt, he realised that he had knocked into someone, and saw that that someone was Clyde. "Sorry about that, Clyde," he apologised. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's okay," he replied. "I'm not fully awake yet either." They both chuckled a bit. "So, I'm guessing something's on your mind, then."

"Yeah…"

"Is it about your sisters?" Lincoln nodded. "Don't worry, Lincoln. You'll figure it out."

"I hope so."

"KIDS! BREAKFAST WILL BE READY SOON!" They heard Harold call from the kitchen.

"Thanks, dad!" Clyde called back.

"I'll make sure the others are awake," Lincoln told his friend, before returning to the bedroom, where the others were groggily coming to their senses. After putting his wash bag back in his overnight bag and making sure everyone knew that breakfast was being prepared, the white haired boy walked out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen, where the McBrides were cooking away, with Howard frying bacon at one hob and Harold preparing omelettes at the other. Lincoln could also tell that there was some toast being prepared in the toaster. Upon entry, his presence was noticed by the latter of the McBrides, who gave him a welcoming smile.

"Good morning, Lincoln," he greeted.

"Morning, Mr McBride," he replied.

"How did you sleep?"

"Good, thanks. You?"

"Good as well, thank you."

"There's orange juice and milk in the fridge, if you want any," Howard told him. "Would you mind retrieving the butter while you're there, Lincoln?"

"Sure thing." Lincoln walked over to the fridge and got out the butter first, placing it on the counter beside him, then reached for the orange juice but stopped. 'I've only just brushed my teeth,' he remembered. 'I should probably just have water right now.' So, closing the fridge, he opened the cupboard above the counter and grabbed a glass from within, then walked over to the sink and filled it with water. He then grabbed the plate holding the butter, which Liam's father had brought the day before, and took it with his glass to the dining table, taking a seat. Taking a quick sip of water to cleanse his palate, Lincoln saw his friends beginning to appear, still wearing their nightwear just like he was wearing his as one by one, they went into the kitchen and then sat down at the dining table with their choice of drink in their hands. "So, what are you guys gonna be doing today?"

"I'm gonna be spending the day with my grandma," Stella answered first. "She just got back yesterday from visiting her friends in our old hometown."

"I'll probably be helping my pa on the farm," Liam spoke next.

"Me and Clyde are heading to a flea market later," Zach told the group. "Heard there's gonna be a clock specialist this time round."

"You guys are lucky," Rusty complained. "My dad's probably going to make me help him at his store again. I wouldn't mind as much, but it's the half term! Let me relax!"

The others simply rolled their eyes at his lazy attitude, before Stella

turned to Lincoln. "What about you?" She asked.

"Well, since they went to the mall last week, my sisters will probably either hang out with friends or stay at home, which means I can hopefully relax for the day, maybe play some video games or read some comics while I have the chance." He then gave a small smirk. "Of course, that's assuming my sisters don't drag me into their own activities."

"So, probably not then," Clyde joked, leading to chuckles emanating from his white haired friend.

"Yeah, I'm probably being too hopeful."

"Okay, kids!" They heard Howard declare as he and Harold came towards them with trays carrying plates of eggs, bacon and toast. "Breakfast is served!"

"Thanks, dads!" Clyde told them as they laid the breakfast on the table.

"Be sure to tell your father how thankful we are for the fresh ingredients," Harold reminded the farm boy.

"Will do, Mr McBride!" Liam replied, before the two adults left the kids to their morning meal, the scent of which was scintillating to their taste buds. "I told y'all, nothing beats food that's fresh from the farm."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lincoln asked. "Let's eat!"

* * *

After a delicious breakfast, the six kids would get changed before going their separate ways for the day, with the white haired male walking under the clear skies and the shining sun. He had a smile on his face the whole way to his house. When he arrived, he was surprised that none of his sisters were in the yard. He had expected to see Lana playing in the garden with Charles or Lynn doing some exercise now that she was off her crutches, but simply shrugged it off as he approached the front door. Gripping its handle, he opened the door and stepped inside, where he saw his sisters sat on the couch. "Hey, guys, I'm-" his smile dropped when nine of them stood up and gazed at him with stern glares, except for the blissfully ignorant infant in Leni's arms. "Back?"

"About time you got back," Lola snapped at him, making him nervous.

"Is everything okay?"

"You tell us, twerp," Lori told him as she stepped forward. "Bobby was calling me yesterday, and he told me that Ronnie Anne was expecting you to call her, and you never did. Why didn't you tell her that you were going to a sleepover?"

This did little to clear up Lincoln's confusion. "But, I never said I was going to call her yesterday."

"Oh, really? Then, pray tell, why did she text me this?"

She held her phone up to him, allowing him to read the text. "Hey, babe. Remember the time we-"

"NOT THAT TEXT!" Lori frantically went through her phone to find the right text, fuming as her sisters laughed behind her and her brother shuddered in disgust before her. "This one."

He looked at the new text and saw that it was a picture of a calendar, with a red circle around the Friday that had just passed. "That can't be right, I'm sure we said it was tomorrow we were going to be calling each other."

"Are you calling her a liar?" Lori challenged with a raised voice.

"No, I just think there's a mistake. Hang on." He then made his way upstairs, his sisters following close behind as he entered his room. Once there, he pulled a calendar off the wall and looked it over. "See? Right here."

He held the calendar up to his sisters, and immediately, Lisa sighed. "Lincoln, that is September's page, not October's."

Flipping the calendar around, he looked it over once more and flicked the page, then groaned. "Great going, Stincoln!" Lynn chastised her sole male sibling.

"How did I not see that?" He sighed, sitting down in the chair by his desk. "I'm gonna call her, see if she's free to talk now." After a second, they hadn't moved, so he glared at them while they smirked back. "Do you mind?"

"Nope!" Lana replied.

With another sigh, Lincoln opened one of his desk drawers, and once his hand was on the object he desired, he turned around and blasted a foghorn in the girls' faces, forcing all but Luna to run off, the rocker simply sneering with crossed arms.

"It's gonna take more than a bit of noise to get rid of me bro," she taunted. Her cockiness, however, faded away when he held his phone up at her with a polka song ready to be played.

"Don't make me press that button, Luna," he warned her.

"You're evil, brah," she resigned, walking away. Now that his sisters were gone, Lincoln shut the door and opened up his laptop. Once he'd logged in and found the video messager, he clicked on the call button by Ronnie Anne's contacts and waited in agony for her to answer. He didn't know if she had made plans for that day, but he could only sit there and hope that she would answer.

'Please pick up,' he thought to himself. He was starting to think that she might have gone out, when the call was finally answered, and he could see the Hispanic girl sat in her bedroom, wearing her purple hoodie and the purple scrunching that kept her raven hair in a ponytail. "Hey, Ronnie Anne."

"Oh, hey, Lame-O," she replied, stonefaced.

"So, uh… sorry about last night. I, uh, kind of goofed a little. I thought I was going to be video chatting with you tomorrow, 'cause… well, I put it on the wrong date of my calendar."

An eyebrow was raised at the boy. "How do you even manage that?"

"Well, I got the right day…" His cheeks turned pink. "But the wrong month." It didn't take even a second for the girl to burst into laughter, gripping her ribs as she fell back onto her feet. The now heavily blushing boy looked away in embarrassment as her laughter was heard through the laptop. "You done yet?"

"Hold on, just a few-few more," she uttered between laughs, still holding her ribs as she sat up, revealing her tears eyes. Eventually, she began breathing deeply, trying to regain her composure as the tears were wiped away. "Thanks for that, Linc. I didn't know I needed that, but that's really got me in a good mood."

"You're welcome," he muttered, then gave a hopeful smile. "So, we're good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

He exhaled out of relief. "Thanks. So, are you free to talk now?"

"Yeah, I've got some time. I'm meeting up with my friends after lunch, but I've got nothing urgent right now. So, what's new with your crazy family?"

"Well, mostly the same. Luna's band are getting kind of popular, so that's good to hear, but nothing too notable. What about you?"

"Well, I'm still getting used to having to share everything. My uncle Carlos walked in on me using the bathroom because I forgot to lock it."

He smirked. "What, you didn't lock the door when you lived in Royal Woods?"

"Ah, shut up." The two both chuckled a bit. "So, Bobby told me that Lori said you've been hanging out with Girl Jordan? When did that happen?"

"Oh, geez. Let me guess, she told him that I'm dating her even though I'm not, right?"

"Yep. You still didn't answer my question, though. When did that happen? I don't remember you two being great friends before."

"No, no, you're right. We were friends before, and we still are, but we've only really hung out once or twice in the past couple of weeks. She got me into… dodgeball."

"Yeah, I think I heard Bobby mention that too. Walls are really thin here, but whatever. So, what made you want to try dodgeball?"

"I wouldn't exactly say I wanted to. Can't remember if I told you, but my parents made me take up football to get more active, but I really didn't want to, so I kept trading with Lynn. It worked until she got injured in the last game. I subbed in for the last play, but accidentally scored against our team. They were… angry, to say the least, so let's just say I got hurt for it."

"I can imagine," she said with a wince. "So, I'm guessing there's more to this?"

With a nod, he continued his story. "After that, I was grounded for a week, which ended three weeks ago. They still wanted me to be more active, so they got me to try different sports- track, soccer, basketball, racquetball- but they all ended badly. So, one day, I bumped into Girl Jordan, and she recommended I try it out, and that was the one that stuck, I guess."

"Seriously, though. Dodgeball?"

"Yep! What, you don't believe me?"

"Honestly? Not really." Lincoln rolled his eyes. "But, hey. Sounds like you're enjoying yourself."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, actually. Didn't expect to take to it that much, but I'm actually having a lot of fun with it."

"Well, good for you. Now you can do something other than play video games and read comic books all the time."

"Ha! That's rich, given you play video games too, and you would always challenge me to a go on dance battle!"

"Yeah, because I'd always beat you! Besides, I skateboard."

"You did not beat me!"

"I so did!"

As the two continued their conversation, they remained unaware of the few sisters- surprisingly, not all of them for once- listening in outside his bedroom.

"So, like, wait a minute," Leni whispered to Lori. "If Linky is dating Ronnie Anne, why did we all think he was dating Jordan?"

Lori opened her mouth to speak, but found herself asking herself that same question. 'Is he dating her?' She pondered. 'I used to think he was dating Ronnie Anne, but I was so quick to think the same of Jordan…'

"Um… I don't know, Leni," she replied. "Listen, I'm gonna go talk to Bobby for a bit. Don't let Lincoln catch you."

"Okay!"

So, while her roommate returned to eavesdropping, Lori returned to their room as the question the ditzy blonde had asked weighed on her mind.


	23. Ch 23- A Brother's Work

"Well, I guess I'd better let you go," Lincoln said after nearly a half hour of talking with his friend. "I know you're planning to hang out with the guys."

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't keep them too long," Ronnie Anne agreed. "It's a rule that whoever's last has to get the hotdogs." They both chuckled at the joke. "So, talk to you again in a couple of weeks?"

"Sure. Saturday okay?"

"Yeah, but make sure it's after seven, okay? There's this home video show that cracks me up!"

"Yeah, that works. Aargh! ends at seven, so I'l call you after that."

"And make sure you put it on the right day on your calendar, okay?"

"Har, har," he fake laughed with a roll of his eyes, but couldn't not smile. "Smell ya later, Ronnie Anne."

"Smell ya later, Lame-O," she replied, before both sixth graders closed the video call. Leaning back in his chair, Lincoln sighed, feeling the same mixture of happiness and contentment he felt from those long distance calls.

"So," he said to himself after a few seconds. "What to do now?"

Just as his mind began to go through his options, his door was opened by the six year old pageant princess of the family. "Oh, Linky!" She said, her voice the same 'sweet' tone she always used when she needed something. With a roll of his eyes, he sat up and looked at his third youngest sister.

"What is it, Lola?" He asked, not even pretending to be surprised.

"I need my favourite pageant coach to help me prepare for the Halloween Little Bewitcher pageant. Leni has already agreed to make my costume, I just need some help fine tuning my performance routine."

"And I suppose, in Lola terms, that means, "will you help me?" Is that it?"

She scoffed. "What part of 'favourite pageant coach' didn't you understand?"

He gave a small smirk as his eyes rolled again, sitting up and turning to face her properly. "Okay, Lola. If I help you, what's in it for me?"

He received a faux look of shock in response. "Isn't the satisfaction of helping your favourite sister enough?"

He simply looked unamused at the argument. "When I asked to borrow some crafts for my art project, you demanded I attend every tea party you held for a month."

"Hmm… touché. Alright, how about I give you ten percent of all my trick or treating candy?"

"Twenty-five percent, no candy corn, and all of your Starry Chews," he bargained, holding his palms flat against each other.

"Fifteen percent, and I keep the candy corn and the Starry Chews."

"Twenty percent, and I get the green and the orange Starry Chews."

"But the greens are the best ones!"

He simply smirked with a raised eyebrows. "How much does this pageant mean to you?"

She growled a little, then regained her composure with a deep breath. "How about… twenty percent of all my candy, I take the candy corn, we split my green and orange Starry Chews, and you get all the purple ones."

"Hmm… Alright, I'll compromise there. You have a deal."

With a grin, Lola held out her hand, which her brother shook. "Pleasure doing business with you. I'll meet with you first thing after lunch in the back yard, and I'll show you what I have so far."

"Okay, Lola." So, once she skipped away, Lincoln decided to grab his phone, then stand up. 'I wonder if Leni could help me make a costume for the Halloween party,' he wondered, his legs already heading towards the shared bedroom of his eldest siblings. Approaching the open door, he looked in and saw Leni alone, sewing what looked to be a pink cloak- 'probably Lola's pageant outfit,' he thought. Knocking on the door, he saw her stop her work and look at him with a smile. "Hey, Leni. Are you busy?"

"Hey, Linky!" She replied as the boy entered. "I'm just working on Lola's witch costume for her pageant. Want to see?"

With a shrug, he told her, "sure." She took the garment and held it up to the boy, showing him that it was a baby pink dress with a magenta cloak attached to the back of it. "Looks pretty good, Leni!"

"Thanks! I've mostly finished it, I just need to do these last stitches, then attach the sequins to the cloak, and it'll be perfect!"

"I'm sure it will."

"So," she asked as she put the dress back on the sewing table, "what's up?"

"Well, I'm going to a Halloween party, and it's fancy dress. I was originally going to go as Ace Savvy again, but I've decided to do something different, and I was wondering-"

She gave him a knowing smile and held her hand up. "Say no more, Linky. What did you have in mind?" With a smile, he opened a web browser on his phone and showed the picture to the fashionista. Looking it over with a scrunched face, she hummed in thought for a few seconds. "Can I get some measurements?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Just stand on the podium real quick." He obliged, stepping onto the miniature podium that Leni used when working on new designs- she did have a mannequin that she sometimes used, but she preferred working on people, since- in her words- _"mannequins don't wear clothes outside. They only wear them in stores."_ Technically, this had some truth to it, but it was shrugged off by her siblings as a Leni being Leni. The blonde took her measuring tape and began measuring Lincoln for his costume, taking a minute to get them perfect and write them down. "And that should do it!"

"So, do you think you'll be able to make it?"

"Totes! I can get it finished by, like, Wednesday."

With a smile, he hugged the eleventh grader. "Thanks, Leni."

She happily hugged him back. "No problem, Linky." As they released the hold, she had an idea. "Ooh! Do you think then, after Halloween, you could help me? I have a fashion show coming up, and I need someone to model for it. It's for kids clothing, so you'd be great for that size."

Feeling uncertain about the idea, he frowned. "Are you sure? I don't think I'd be very good at modelling."

With a small pout, she kneeled down to his height. "Please, Linky?"

Seeing his older sister deploy the puppy dog eyes, his great weakness, he did his best to hold out before giving in not even two seconds later. "Okay, I'll model for your show."

Gleefully, she clapped her hands. "Yay! Thanks, Linky! Now, I better get Lola's costume finished. She said she planned to practice her routine later."

"Yep, and she wants me to help coach her again, so I'll let you carry on."

'God only knows what she'd do if she thought I was keeping Leni from finishing her costume,' he thought as he left his eldest sisters' room. 'Now, to relax while I have the chance.'

"Hey, Lincoln! You busy right now?" He heard Lana shout from downstairs, causing him to sigh.

'A brother's work is never done.'

* * *

After a half hour of helping Lana clean El Diablo and Izzy's tanks, a 'spontaneous' sparring session with Lynn that lasted twenty minutes, two requests for rhymes from Lucy and ten minutes with Luna giving her his opinions on two songs she had been working on, Lincoln finally got the chance to relax a little as lunch came around. He made himself one of his PB J and sauerkraut sandwiches, grabbed a banana and poured himself a glass of water, and took it upstairs to his room, where he put the food and drink on his desk, stripped down to his underwear and sat down so he could read a comic book while he ate. He was sat there for about twenty minutes before he was finished with both his food and his comic, putting the book down next to the empty plate and glass.

"That was a good read," he said to himself, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "Wonder if I can fit another in before-"

He didn't get to finish that sentence, as Lola opened the door, giving him a look of disgust when she realised he was in his undies. "Do you have to do that?"

"It's my room," he reminded her.

"Ugh, whatever. Just put some clothes on and meet me in my room rather than the back yard."

"I was about to," he muttered as she walked away. "Guess that second comic will have to wait."

So, he got up, put his clothes back on, and took his plate and glass downstairs. After placing them in the sink and binning the banana peel, he made his way back upstairs and knocked on the door to the twins' bedroom. "You may enter!" Walking in, he saw Lola sat at her tea party table with her stuffed animals, one seat unoccupied. Upon seeing her brother was fully dressed, she smiled. "Have a seat."

"Thank you," he replied, sitting down as best he could on the tiny seat.

"Tea?" She offered, holding out a teacup.

"What variety?"

"Some of daddy's favourite Earl Grey." He opened his mouth to speak. "I asked him this time, I swear."

Satisfied, he nodded. "Sure. Anything beats that Darjeeling tea." He frowned in disgust. "That was not pleasant." As he pushed that to the back of his mind, he accepted the cup and allowed Lola to pour the hot tea into his cup. He then added a bit of milk and sugar, before beginning to stir a spoon in the cup. "So, what have you got so far?"

"Well, I've already got the music selected, Leni is making my costume, and I have the overall routine cemented, but I think there's something missing. Some extra… pizzazz."

Lincoln held back a laugh, covering his mouth with his fist. "Pizzazz?"

With a roll of her eyes, she tutted. "So uncouth…" She said to the nearest plush toy, before taking a drink of her tea, then looking back at her sole brother. "Look, Lincoln, if you're just going to laugh, then I'll figure it out myself."

"No, no, I'm sorry. It's just… never heard you say 'pizzazz' before." Again, she rolled her eyes. "So, maybe if you run me through what you have so far, we can take a look and see what we can do."

"Okay! Now, we'll have to do it in here since Lana is outside, and I will _NOT _have her ruining this dress again." He gave a small chuckle as he nodded in agreement. "Can you move the table while I prepare the music?"

"Sure thing, Lola." So, whilst Lola walked over to her CD player, Lincoln shifted the chairs and plush toys to one side of the room, before moving the small plastic table with relative ease, making sure not to spill his tea. Once the floor was clear, he saw Lola beckon him towards her. Knowing instantly what she meant, he approached the CD player whilst she grabbed a magenta witches hat that she put on her head, and her ribbon stick. She then made her way to the centre of the floor. "Ready?" She nodded, assuming her starting position with her head pointing down. "Three… two… one…"

He pressed the button, and the music began to play. Lincoln was surprised by the song choice at first, as it was of a slower pace than her ribbon dances tended to be, but once the opening lyrics played, it made sense with the theme of the pageant. She looked up upon hearing the first lyrics, then tossed her hat to the side in classy fashion. She then raised her ribbon stick in the air and began twirling it around her. As the music progressed, she manoeuvred her way through the performance exactly how she envisioned it- every flick of her ribbon was perfect, in time with the music and to the right degree; every twirl, step and leap she made was correct, never a foot out of place or an arm in the wrong position. Her movements flowed through the performance to the same high quality she expected of herself. As the song eventually reached its close, she performed the final wave of her ribbon stick and bowed, to which Lincoln applauded.

"That was really good, Lola!" He commended. "Seriously, that was some of your best work."

"Why, thank you, Linky!" She replied with a curtsy, but then formed a frown on her face. "Still, I feel like there's something missing, and if there is, I feel it could cost me in the talent portion."

Lincoln donned a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hmm… well… for the most part, I thought your performance was perfect. The only thing that I would say needs improvement would be the finish."

"You think so?"

He nodded. "I do. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it felt too similar to the main body of your performance. It needed to be something a bit… grander. Something that would give the judges something to remember."

"Hmm… that might be it. But what could I do that would work?"

Lincoln tapped his chin for a few seconds as he searched his brain for the answer. "Maybe… no. Or what about… Hmm…" He snapped his fingers as he reached a eureka moment. "I've got it! You could throw your ribbon stick into the air, do an aerial walkover and catch it!"

Her eyes widened a little upon the suggestion. "Lincoln, that sounds… genius!" She rushes towards him and wrapped her arms around his legs. "I knew I was right to ask you for help again!"

He smiled at what was a true Lola Loud way of saying thanks, so he hugged her back. "No worries, Lola."

Then, all of a sudden, she let go of his legs and backed off, giving him a narrow eyed stare. "Wait a minute! How do you know what an aerial walkover is?"

"Uh… from you? Where else would I have heard of that?"

She stared him down, seeing a nervous grin on the boy's face. "Hmm…" The two had their eyes locked on each other, the boy feeling the sweat forming on his forehead at the idea he had let slip his secret. Fortunately, though, she smiled. "It seems I underestimated how much you appreciate the dedication it takes to be a pageant queen. You've clearly learnt a thing or two from my tutelage."

"But, aren't I- I mean, right! Well, uh, glad I could help. Shall I leave you so you can practice?"

"That would be most helpful."

"Then, I shall leave you be." With a bow to the self-proclaimed princess, he left the twins' room and headed downstairs. 'That was close,' he thought. 'Still, now that I've helped Lola, maybe that means I can relax for a bit.' Upon entering the living room, he saw that the TV was free, making him grin. 'And what better way than kicking ass at video games?'


	24. Ch 24- Sometimes, You Fall Down

**(A/N: Hey, everyone, it's me. I've decided that, now that I've written this chapter, I'm gonna take a short break from this- I'm expecting it to be a week, but definitely no more than a couple of weeks at most. I want to write a one shot for another fandom, but I also want to take a little bit of time to make sure I'm going in the right direction with this, as I'm at the point where I'm filling in the blanks as I go along. Honestly, there have already been a few changes made to the original synopsis I came up with- which, no lie, was more than a thousand words itself, easily my longest to date.**

**Hope that you guys understand, because the support you've given this fic has overwhelmed me and made me so incredibly happy- you've already made this my most viewed, reviewed, favourited AND followed story on this site, and I'm truly grateful, so I want to make sure that it stays as something you like.**

**Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy!)**

"You're her pageant coach?"

It was the next day, and Lincoln was walking with the girls once again towards gymnastics. While he had to make sure that he wasn't followed- which, compared to what it was usually like, was easier this time- he made it to Girl Jordan's house by himself, and they set off once everyone was there. As they made their way towards the sports centre, the group had been asking each other about their plans for the week break, which led to Lincoln bringing up how he would be helping Lola with her pageant.

"Yeah. I help her for some pageants and she asks Lori for help with others," he answered the confused Kat's question.

"Yeah, I can understand why she'd ask… whichever one Lori is," Kat replied, "but you?"

"I've coached her on pageanting for more than a year. I even coached Lana for one pageant, but that's another story."

"Lana's her twin, right?" Jordan asked, to which he nodded. "Well, I think it's sweet. You're helping your little sister when she needs you."

This made Lincoln smile. "Thanks, Girl Jordan." She gave a smile back, though Lincoln noticed a bit of sadness behind it. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you-"

"So, are you and the others still coming to the Halloween party?"

He knew she was hiding something, but after years of living with his sisters, he knew that he wasn't going to get anything from her at that time, so he answered her question instead. "Yeah. The others are still coming too, and I'm gonna see Lola at her pageant, then I'll get ready and meet them there."

"Sounds great! I look forward to seeing you there."

He gave her a bemused grin. "What, do you not see me right now?" He began checking himself. "Did I turn invisible again?"

While Jordan did roll her eyes, she and the girls couldn't help but laugh. "Shut up, you goof." He stuck his tongue out at her, which only made her laugh more. "I meant, I look forward to seeing your costume."

He chuckled. "I know you did, I'm just messing. How are your costumes coming along?"

"Mine should be arriving tomorrow," Mollie answered. "Found mine on iBay."

"Same here," Sadie added, with Joy nodding behind her.

"I got mine at the mall last week," Kat spoke next.

"My sister Jen is making mine," Jordan told the boy. "I'm guessing your sister Leni's making yours?"

"Yeah, Leni said she didn't mind, though I have to model for her next fashion show as thanks," he answered. "It's a fair deal, though I'm not looking forward to it."

"What, does the pageant coach not think he's a good model?" Mollie teased.

"You say that like it's a joke, yet you're right. I mean," he gestured to his body, "I'm not exactly a natural model."

Joy gave him a look up and down, then grinned. "Yeah, he's right," she joked, to which Sadie, Mollie and Kat laughed, though Jordan rolled her eyes.

"Lay off him," she told the still giggling girls, then looked at the boy. "You'll be fine. Besides, it's Leni. She knows what she's doing."

"You would say that, given you're her favourite customer."

This was news to Jordan, her eyes widening. "I am?" Her smile grew upon seeing Lincoln nod to answer her question. "Aww… that's so sweet of her."

"Yep. That's Leni, alright. Sweetest person you'll ever meet."

"HEY, YOU TWO!" Mollie yelled, alerting them to the fact that they were now a bit ahead of them. "YOU COMING OR WHAT?" They rolled their eyes, before running to catch up with their friends.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Lincoln and the others were near the end of TeamGym practice, and they were back on the trampettes. "Okay, everyone!" Chris declared. "To wrap things up, you're going to complete two runs on the trampette- one without the vault, and one with. Form a single file line, and we'll start." The kids wasted no time in doing so, eager to give it a go. "Okay. When I blow my whistle, the person at the front will go. You'll make your way down the track, complete your jump, then step off the mat. Ready?"

He placed the whistle to his lips and blew into it, signalling for Mollie to start her run. She took off down the track, leapt onto the trampette and sprang off it, performing a somersault before landing on her feet with her arms raised. As she stepped off the mat, Chris blew the whistle and the next person began their run. One by one, they took their turn, completing their jumps off the trampette and landing on the mat, some cleaner than others. After Girl Jordan went and he heard the whistle, Lincoln made his run. Picking up speed along the track, he eventually leapt off the trampette and tilted forward with his hands out, going into a forward roll. He got to his feet, but stumbled backward and fell down. Disappointed, he got up and walked over to Girl Jordan, who saw his frown and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry, Lincoln," she assured him. "You'll get it eventually."

He felt a bit better when she said this, his lips curling upward. "Thanks."

As they returned to watching the others complete their runs, the last kid leapt off the trampette and landed on their feet, before stepping off. "Okay, last runs, everyone!" Chris declared, and they made their way to the start of the track that led to the vaulting trampette. "Same as before. Ready?"

Once more, he blew the whistle, and starting with Mollie, they went one by one down the track. 'Okay, Lincoln,' he told himself. 'You've got this.' Once Girl Jordan has completed her run, Chris blew his whistle once more, and Lincoln was off. He picked up the pace as he made his way down the track, then leapt off the trampette. He held his arms out to propel himself further from the vault horse, but unfortunately, Lincoln's jump was a little overzealous, meaning he went past the vault horse and landed face first on the mat. Seeing this, a couple of the younger kids laughed, though most of them winced as Girl Jordan and Chris went over to check on the boy.

"You okay there, Lincoln?" Chris asked as they helped him up.

"Yeah," he groaned, his face a little red from both the force and the embarrassment of the impact, "I've had worse."

"Alright. Be careful next time, okay?" Lincoln nodded. "Good man."

So, Lincoln walked off the mat with Girl Jordan, allowing Chris to do the same and blow his whistle for the next runner. "Well, that was embarrassing," Lincoln muttered with a blush on his cheeks.

"Don't let it get to you," Girl Jordan assured him. "It happens."

"Yeah… guess it was a matter of time."

"Don't say that!" She turned him by the shoulder so he could face her. "You're only just starting out. You're not going to get everything right straight away. If that means you fall down once in a while, then don't let it get you down. You'll figure it out sooner or later."

He gave a small smile at her assurance. "Thanks."

"Yeah, you should've been there when Jordan started," Mollie said, having heard their conversation. "The first time she tried to vault, she caught her foot on it and was left hanging by her feet."

Jordan blushed at the memory, before turning to her friend. "You say that like you didn't slip on the balance beam when you first tried it and landed on your butt!" While Mollie blushed as well, Lincoln gave a small chuckle, which caused them to stare at him, making him feel nervous. When Jordan started laughing, however, he smiled and laughed with her and Mollie for a good few seconds, smiles still on their faces when they stopped. "See? Everyone makes a mistake when they're just getting started."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, girls."

So, they watched as the others completed their runs, before walking over to the floor, where Chris would lead them through their closing stretches for a couple of minutes. "Okay, that'll do it for today," he announced. "Now, I'll be heading home for a few days for family reasons, so there won't be any more sessions until next Tuesday. If there are any changes to this, I'll let your parents know. Until then, good work today, and enjoy your week break." As the kids got to their feet and started to walk toward the changing rooms, he called out, "Hey, Lincoln, hang back a second."

The white haired boy turned to Jordan. "I'll catch up with you later," he told her, to which she nodded, and whilst she went to get changed, Lincoln walked towards the instructor. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check that you were okay after before. Nasty fall you took."

"Oh." Lincoln frowned a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. Honestly, I've had worse."

"Well, that's good to hear. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will." Chris smiled, then began to walk away. "Hey, Chris?"

The man turned to the boy again. "Yeah?"

"Am I… am I doing alright?"

This was a bit of a surprise to him, so he kneeled down to his height. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well… I'm just… wondering, I guess. It doesn't really matter that much, I just-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Now, to answer your question, you're doing good so far. Don't forget, Lincoln, you've only been doing this for a couple of weeks. It usually takes at least one or two months for someone to pick up the basics, and longer to master them, depending on how much they exercise outside of training sessions."

"Really?" When Chris nodded, he relaxed. "That makes me feel a bit better, I'll admit."

"I know how you feel. Plus, you're starting a bit late, so that can affect how well you adapt to it."

"Do you mind if I ask how old you were when you started?"

The adult of the two smiled. "Not at all! I was nine, nearly ten when I started, so I was starting a bit late myself."

"Did that make it harder for you?"

"In some areas, yeah, but because I was quite active already, it helped me a bit. Overall, though, it took me as long as it would someone who was younger than I was when they start."

"Oh…" Lincoln looked down, not sure how to take that. He felt a little better that he wasn't doing badly, but the fact that he wasn't that active outside of gymnastics weighed that down a bit.

"Hey, look at me." The boy looked up and met his eyes. "I know it can be tough adapting to something new, and it can be disheartening when you make a mistake, so I'm going to tell you the two pieces of advice my coach told me. First, if you fall down, get back up, and keep going. It's something that happens, and something that you can learn from. You get what I'm saying?" Lincoln nodded. "Good. The other piece of advice is this- it's up to you to decide how much you're willing to learn, and how much you need to do to achieve that."

"It's up to me?"

"Exactly. You and you alone know the true extents of what you're capable of, and no one can choose for you how much it'll take to do that. It might be a case of trial and error, but you'll figure it out."

"Trial and error… kind of like… me choosing gymnastics after I tried those other sports."

Although he didn't know the full extent of what Lincoln meant, Chris smiled. "That's a good way of looking at it." He then glanced at his watch, before looking back at the sixth grader. "Okay, I need to get going, Lincoln. Keep what I said in mind, okay?"

He nodded. "Thanks, Chris."

The adult smiled and held a hand up, which Lincoln high fived. "Enjoy your week break, kid."

With that, Chris walked away, his words still fresh on Lincoln's mind. 'It's up to you to decide…'

"Hey," he heard Girl Jordan say from behind, alerting him to her presence, which alerted him to the fact that she was ready to go. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," he told her with a smile. "He just wanted to make sure I was okay after earlier."

"Okay. Well, my mom is probably waiting outside."

"Right. I'll, uh, go get my stuff." She nodded, and he walked towards the changing room. 'It's up to you to decide…'


	25. Ch 25- Hospital Visit

**(A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for being patient and supportive as always. The break from the story has helped me to get an idea of what's next for this story. Now, I'll be honest- I know what I'm writing about for the next six chapters, and I know the next step after that, but I'm still trying to think of how to get from… well, I'd say A to B, but at this point it's more like from D to E.**

**In all seriousness, thank you guys for reading once again, and enjoy!)**

"You okay back there, sweetie?" Rita asked, turning around after she put on her seatbelt.

"Yeah, mom, now can we go already?" Lynn Jr replied impatiently.

"Okay, relax, just checking. Alright, let's go." Turning back around, she turned on the engine, and pulled out of the driveway before beginning to drive away. "So, I bet you're excited." Lynn nodded- it was Tuesday, and while that alone was nothing special, it was the day of Lynn's checkup with the physio therapist, which meant that Lynn might finally get her protective boot off and go back to practice. "Well, I know you've been anxious to get back to practice, but I'm glad you've been patient."

"Yeah, I know, wouldn't want to injure myself again." Rita rolled her eyes, knowing that her tone was because she had heard it all before. "Still, it'll be good to get back in the gym and get in a workout. I was going mad watching everyone in PE!"

The mother of eleven chuckled as she turned around the corner. "I know, sweetie, but remember, if the doctor says that you can't go back to practice right away-"

"Yeah…" The athlete of the family sighed. "I know I'll have to listen to him… though, I really don't want to! I've been sat still for too long!"

Again, Rita chuckled. "Honestly, Lynn, it's not as if it's killed you to take a break." When her daughter rolled her eyes, she did the same. "Well, we'll be there soon, Lynn, so hopefully everything will go alright."

"Yeah, you're right." So, for the remainder of the ride, Lynn mostly was quiet unless her mother asked her about something, like if she knew who had broken one of the dinner plates the previous Sunday, or if she asked her mother something, like how Lincoln was doing at dodgeball practice. Fortunately, due to Royal Woods being a small town, the ride only lasted about ten minutes due to traffic, and once the athlete saw that Vanzilla was pulling into the the public parking lot to Royal Woods General Hospital, a grin appeared on her face. "Finally!"

"Alright, Lynn, we're here," Rita spoke up as she turned off the engine.

"Sweet! Let's do this."

So, they got out of the car and locked the door, before entering through the main entrance to the hospital, walking down the white walled corridor to the main reception area. The hospital was usually quite busy, but it was a little bit quieter today, with not as many patients or family members walking about or waiting to be seen. As they approached the desk, a young blonde woman in her mid twenties with glasses looked up from her computer and smiled. "Hello," she greeted.

"Hi, we're here for Lynn Loud Jr," Rita replied with a matching smile. "She has an appointment with Dr Johnson."

"One second, please." She began typing into her computer and waited a few seconds before the results came up. "Alright, Dr Johnson currently has one more patient that he is seeing at the moment, but he should be right with you. Just head down the hall to the left and follow the signs."

"That's great, thank you." The Loud matriarch then led her daughter down the aforementioned hallway and made their way to the correct waiting area, which was fortunately empty, much to Lynn's relief- while she never 'minded' going to the hospital, as such, she was never a fan of being in crowded waiting areas.

'Reminds me too much of being at home,' was her reason. 'Bad enough I have to be here, don't need to be reminded how everyone else is back at home doing what they want.'

"Okay, I'm gonna get some water real quick," Rita told her. "Do you want any?"

"Nah, I'm cool," Lynn replied as she plonked herself down on a chair.

"Alright. I'll be right back."

While her mother began to walk away, Lynn sat there, swinging her previously injured leg back and forth under the chair. If there was one thing Lynn hated more about hospital visits than crowded waiting areas, it was long waits. There was nothing to do for her unless she had her phone on her (which, on this occasion, she did not)- the play toys were too childish and simple for her, the leaflets were either too dull or too drastic, and the fish tank always bored her. One time that she had to go to the dentist, her mom had chastised her for trying to make the fish swim faster, though she had been too young for her to remember exactly what happened, or what happened to the fish after.

As she remembered this fact, the door opened up and Dr Johnson appeared, the tan, dark haired man escorting out a similar looking man in a white t-shirt and grey trousers, rotating his left wrist. "You should be okay, just don't try to lift anything too heavy." As the man walked away after thanking the physio therapist, Dr Johnson saw the thirteen year old and smirked. "Hey, Lynn! Glad to see you're back."

"What up, DJ?" She greeted, making him chuckle at the nickname he gave her. "Yeah, just here to give back the boot I borrowed and trade it for my sneakers."

"I'll bet. Well, provided everything goes well, I can see no reason why you shouldn't rejoin your teammates at practice."

"Ah, Dr Johnson," they heard Rita say as she returned with a plastic cup full of water.

"Hello, Rita! Lovely to see you. Right, so, let's go inside and take a look." He led the two Louds into the room and he sat behind the desk, while Lynn sat on the other side of it and Rita sat next to her daughter. "So, Lynn, have you felt any pain?"

"Nah," she nonchalantly replied. "All good here."

"Any difficulties moving?" She shook her head quickly, her ponytail flicking her in the face. "And have you been doing the exercises I prescribed?"

"Totally! They've been the only thing keeping me sane!"

He chuckled again. "I bet. Well, let's get the boot off and take a look." So, for the next ten to fifteen minutes, he had a look at the girl's leg to check how it had healed. After checking for swelling or bruising, and making sure nothing hurt, he started with the reflex test, making sure to sit side on from her after the time when she nearly kicked him in her nether region. He then had her go through a couple of basic exercises to check her recovery, such as star jumps, step ups and lunges, before having her use the treadmill for a few minutes. Once she was done, she sat back down while the doctor typed into his computer. "Well, Lynn, I'll admit that you're probably the most athletic girl I've treated. Your leg has healed up wonderfully, and you can go back to your teams straight away."

"YES!" she practically roared, leaping up with a fist pump. "Get in!"

He gave a hearty laugh at her energy, then looked at Rita. "If she does complain about any pain, it's probably nothing, so just give her some ibuprofen or some paracetamol, and maybe an ice pack. Other than that, I can't think of any issues she might have."

"That's wonderful," she replied as she stood up. "Thank you, Doctor."

"No problem."

* * *

The second that Vanzilla's engine turned off in the driveway, Lynn leapt out of the car- literally, as Lori would say. "Oh, yeah!" The middle schooler cheered. "Lynnsanity is back, baby!"

"Lynn!" Rita called, rolling down the window. "Remember not to break anything while I'm at work!"

"Okay! I'll wait till you get back!"

The dental assistant did not look amused. "Lynn…"

Lynn chuckled. "I'm kidding! Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Rolling her eyes, Rita smiled. "Alright. Lori and most of the girls should be in, but if you decide to go out for a jog or something, make sure someone knows."

"Got it!"

"Alright, I love you sweetie."

"You too, mom!" She watched as her mother drove off, before heading into the house through the front door. Looking to the left, she was surprised to see that no one was on the couch or using the TV. 'No twins fighting over the remote, no Stinkoln playing video games, no Lori hogging it because she's the oldest even though she's too busy texting her boyfriend… any other time, this would be the perfect opportunity to nab the remote!' She thought to herself, then considered it before waving it off. 'Eh, there's not really anything on right now. Besides,' a smirk came over her face, 'I've been taking it easy for too long, and there's some weights with my name on them.' Her mind set, she headed into the kitchen, opened the door to the basement, and-

"ACK!"

This caught Lynn off guard, so she rushed down the stairs to see what it was, and her eyes went wide when she saw her only brother laid on her weight bench, struggling to pry a barbell off his chest. "Lincoln!" She rushed towards him and lifted it off of him, allowing him to gasp for air after it had been knocked out of him by the weight of the bar dropping on him. "Here, I've got it." She placed the bar back on its holder, then helped her brother to sit up as he caught her breath. "You okay?" Still regaining his breathing, he gave a nod. "What were you even trying to do?"

"I was…" He tried to speak, but found himself wheezing instead. When he tried to speak again, he had to cough into his hand.

"Hang on, bro." She ran back upstairs into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, then turned on the tap and filled it with water. Once it was full, she turned the tap off, and headed back downstairs, sitting next to her brother. "Here."

He gave a small smile as she handed him the water, taking a slow drink of it. "Ah…" he sighed, feeling better. "Thanks, Lynn."

"No problem. Now, come on, what are you doing down here, trying to bench…" She looked at the weights, and her eyes bugged open. "Linc, you seriously thought you could press forty five kilos?! I'm only just able to do that!"

He gave a small blush. "Admittedly, I… I didn't check the weight on it."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, that aside… what were you doing down here? I thought you had dodgeball today."

"Well, first of all, practice is off until Sunday."

"So, what, is this you trying to make up for it?"

"… kinda…"

As he took another drink from his glass, she tilted her head at her brother. "Kinda? What does that mean?"

He took the glass away from his lips, gulping down his mouthful of water and allowing her to see the slight frown on his face. "Well… at practice on Sunday, I kinda… messed up a bit." He looked away from his fifth oldest sister. "Be honest, Lynn, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Aww, come on, Link!" She smirked as she rested her elbow on his shoulder. "It can't be any worse than anything I've been through."

"Even after what happened when I tried racquetball?"

She rolled her eyes. "You really need to get over that, it was, what, three weeks ago?" She then turned him so he was facing her. "When I was at roller derby practice one time, we were having a practice game, and I had the lead. I was about to lap Kendra when I was tackled, which caused a collision."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Oh yeah? When we were trying to get up, one of the girls accidentally put her foot down on one of the legs of my shorts, and when I stood up, they ripped in half." Lincoln couldn't even try and hold back his laughter, throwing his head back in hysteria. Although it wasn't her reaction when the event actually happened, Lynn couldn't help but laugh as well. "See? If I can come clean about that, you can tell me. So, come on, what happened?"

After taking a moment to calm down, he replied, "well… I don't want to go into detail, but… let's just say I ended up… landing flat on my face." Lynn winced as she imagined what he was referring to, causing him to nod. "Yeah. So, after practice was over, I asked Chris if there was anything I was doing wrong, and he said I was doing alright, but he told me that if I wanted to improve, I need to decide how much I'm prepared to do."

Lynn was finally starting to understand. "So… you thought that, if you worked out alongside your practice sessions, you might get better?" He nodded. "Bro… why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I guess I just… wanted to see if I could do it by myself." He looked down and sighed. "Guess I can't."

A pang of guilt hit the brunette, so she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Linc, don't say that. Honestly, I know I give you-" She paused, looked back at the top of the stairs, then looked back at her brother. "I know I give you crap from time to time, but that doesn't mean I think less of you for anything. So don't think less of yourself, okay?"

He looked back up, his eyes meeting her sincere gaze, and he gave a small smile. "Thanks, Lynn." His gaze returned to the floor. "Still, this was kind of a waste, huh?"

A few seconds passed in silence, Lincoln feeling slightly embarrassed while Lynn was quietly in thought. "No." Lincoln looked up again when she said this, seeing a determined look on her face. "This wasn't a waste, Lincoln. You can make this work."

"Really? How?"

She gave him a confident smile, and told her brother, "because now you have me to help you."


	26. Ch 26- Sibling Training Session

**(A/N: hey, guys, just a quick notice this time- I'm working on an upcoming chapter, and I need ideas for Halloween costumes for the following characters: **

**Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Mollie, Joy, Sadie, Kat. **

**If any of you have any good ideas, please let me know- any I use, I will give a shout-out to in the chapter that these costumes are featured in.**

**Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

"Okay, Linc," Lynn told her brother, having dragged him outside. The sixth grader was now in a white t-shirt and blue shorts. "I had a look online for what to focus on, since dodgeball ain't exactly my forte, but first I need to see what you can do." She then bent down to pick up a soccer ball. "I know this ain't a dodgeball, but it's the closest thing we have, so it'll do. Alright, first up, CATCH!"

She then caught him off guard by throwing the ball right at him with full force, and while he did try to catch it, he wasn't quick enough so it hit him square in the chest, making him stumble backwards and fall onto his butt. "Ugh…"

With a tired sigh, Lynn put her hands on her hips. "Okay… let's try it this way instead. Let's just play some catch with it. You throw it at me as if you're trying to get me out, okay?" With a nod, he got to his feet with the ball in his hands, arched his arm back and threw the ball at her, though Lynn was unamused as she caught it. "Really? That's all you've got, Linc? Come on, bro! Show me what you've got!" This spurred Lincoln on a little bit, leading to the throwing the ball back and forth for a good couple of minutes. While Lincoln was able to catch the ball a few times, he wasn't consistent, and would drop the ball almost as often as he caught it. His throws, however, never seemed to improve, being caught just as easily as the first throw. "Alright, that'll do for now,"she told him. "Now, go stand against the fence."

"Uh… Okay?" He obliged, walking over to the fence, and stood facing her. "What now?"

"Wait there a sec." She jogged over to the garage, leaving Lincoln to ponder what she was planning. He got his answer when she returned a moment later with a bag of soccer balls, which she poured out by her feet. "We've checked your throwing and catching, now just got to check your dodging."

Lincoln felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. "Uh, wait a second…"

"Ready?!"

"Wait, maybe we should- aah!" He ducked to avoid the ball heading his way, which bounced off the metal fence and rolled back towards his sister.

"Come on, Linc! If you wanna get good at dodgeball, you need to be ready for anything!"

"I was only going to say you don't have a whistle!"

She stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what he was talking about, before it hit her. "Oh, right. Fine, I'll count down for you. Happy?" He nodded. "Alright. Three, two, one, go!"

With that, she started throwing the balls again, and Lincoln n to dodge them as best he could. While Lynn would on the odd two or three throws almost send it over the fence and get the balls caught in the trees that were behind it, her accuracy was pretty spot on, so the boy had his work cut out for the next few minutes. He didn't do bad at first, only getting hit on the arm a couple of times and once on his leg, but after the first minute, Lynn's relentless barrage of balls was wearing him out, so his dodges became less and less as he got hit more and more, with one to his gut driving the wind out of him. He wasn't entirely sure when she planned to stop, until he heard someone speak up.

"Lynn!" They turned to see Luna say as she approached with a stern look. "I thought mom told you that you couldn't force Lincoln into your training if he didn't want to!"

"I know, and I didn't force him!"

The rocker crossed her arms. "Oh, so our lil' bro just 'volunteered' to have you throw balls at him?"

"Luna, it's… it's okay," Lincoln told her, taking the opportunity to catch his breath. "Lynn's helping me… train for dodgeball."

"Really?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, and he nodded in response. "My bad. Still, go easy on him, Lynn. Also, I need to practice, so try not to use the garage as a backboard."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Lynn replied in a half assed way, making her older sister roll her eyes as she walked away. "Alright, Linc, ready to begin training?"

"I thought that was the training?!" He exclaimed, exasperated.

"Nah, that was just a warm up test. Lets me know what I'm working with, and gets the blood pumping. Now, come on. We'll grab some water on the way."

* * *

A few minutes later, the two rehydrated Louds were back in the basement. "Okay, Linc- honesty time," Lynn told her brother. "What I saw out there before… it wasn't great. You've got the basic idea, but not much more than that."

Although Lincoln wasn't surprised, since he wasn't actually doing dodgeball, he did still feel a little bit sad by this. "Yeah…"

"Still, everyone starts somewhere, and this just happens to be where you're starting. Now, looking online, seems the three main areas we need to work on are your footwork, your arm strength and your agility. You also need to have good reflexes, but I think you're okay in that area."

"Living in this house, you kind of have to," he joked, making them share a laugh for a few seconds. "Okay. So, where do we start?"

She smiled. "Not backing down, huh? Good to know. Alright, let's work on your arms first." She kneeled down in front of her weight bench and reached underneath it, pulling out two dumbbells. "Gonna start with some curls. Take these." She held them out to him and he took them in his hands, though the second that she let go, he felt the full force of their weight drop, causing him to fall forward. As he got up, Lynn pressed the palm of her hand into her face. "Okay… should've seen that coming. One second." She took the dumbbells again and lightened the weight on them, halving the weight of each. "Alright, try these now."

He took them once more, this time tensing his muscles to try avoid dropping them. When she let go this time, he found the weights were more tolerable, but he could still feel the weight. "Okay, that works."

"Alright, now you're going to do what I do. Okay?" He nodded and watched as his sister grabbed two more dumbbells, noticing how they had more weight on them than his but not complaining. She stood next to him and began to curl the weights, alternating arms. "You don't want to go too fast, and you need to control it as you re-extend your arm. Got it?"

"I think so."

She then stopped for a second as she watched her brother curl the weights, taking notice of how he lowered the weights. "There you go, not bad. We'll keep this up for about a minute, and then move on, okay?" He nodded, and the two continued to work on their curls, with Lynn encouraging him when he seemed to slow down, before Lincoln and Lynn put their weights down. "Alright, Linc, not a bad start. Now, come on." She led him towards the bench. "So, since you're a beginner, let's start with ten kilos, and see how you do, okay?"

"Alright." She lightened the load on the bar, then took it off its rest. "So, what am I doing here?"

"Lie down on the bench so you're facing down," she instructed, her brother giving her a confused look in response. "Come on, just trust me." With a shrug, he obliged, lying on the bench as she asked. "Okay. What you're gonna do is take the bar in both hands," she gave him the bar so he was holding it underneath with his arms straight, "and you're gonna lift it up so it's in front of you."

"Like this?"

She watched as her brother bended his arms so that it was closer to his chest, making her shake her head. "No, not like that. Gimme." She took the weight from him, making him look at her. "Imagine I'm lying on the bench right now, okay? You wanna do it like this." She held the bar out in front of her with arms straightened, then lifted it so it was above her head, then lowered it to the original position, before repeating it two more times. "You get it now?"

"I think so," he replied as he took the weights again. "So, like this."

He got back into position, then held the bar close to the ground with his arms straight, then lifted the bar to the point where his arms were out past his head, before lowering it to the starting position. "That's more like it, yeah. Just remember, keep your arms straight and control the descent. You should move your arms down just as fast as you move them up. Since you're new to this, I'll spot you."

"Spot me?"

"Yeah, just keep going, and I'll help you out. Give me fifteen reps, okay?"

"Okay." So, he continued working, with Lynn calling out when he need to lift or lower the bar to help him maintain a steady rhythm. He did slow down towards the end, but she expected that from a first timer, so she just made sure he completed the exercise. "Okay, good work, bro. Take a minute to let your muscles rest, and we'll get on with your workout."

"Okay." After standing up from the bench, she saw Lynn take the bar and sit down on the bench, resting the bar on her feet. "Uh, Lynn? What are you doing?"

She smirked at her brother. "What do you think? I've been taking it easy for three weeks. Need to make sure my legs haven't gone soft."

He simply chuckled. "Do you want me to spot you?"

"… eh, sure, why not."

* * *

So, the two continued to workout. After about thirty minutes of working with Lincoln on his arm strength the two went outside, where Lynn worked with him on his footwork. She instructed him to do an assortment of ladder drills, moving sideways, forward, backward and in any manner Lynn could think of, throwing her soccer balls at him to 'keep him motivated' by 'simulating a dodgeball experience'. After she accidentally hit him square in the face and unintentionally making him trip on the ladder, though, they took a water break and packed up the stuff before Lynn led him on a ten minute jog to the park and back, which her competitive nature turned into a race, and by the end he was completely shattered. As she led her brother into the house, she turned around and called out, "you alright, Linc?"

He followed behind her, panting and dripping with sweat. "Y-Yeah, I'm… I'm okay," he replied, closing the door behind him. "I thought… you said we… were just… jogging?"

She shrugged. "Eh, I got bored. Come on, let's grab a protein shake." The two then went into the kitchen, where the middle schooler grabbed a bag of protein powder and poured some into a blender, then peeled a banana and threw it in with some cocoa powder and some milk. After blending it for about thirty seconds, she turned off the blender and poured the shake into two glasses, handing one to her brother. "Cheers." They clinked their glasses together, then drunk from them, with Lynn downing it in one. Whilst she was satisfied with it, she saw Lincoln wasn't totally enjoying it. "Yeah, they aren't great at first, but you get used to it."

"I guess," he muttered, before taking another drink. "The banana does help, though."

"Yep. So, I gotta say, you didn't do bad today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sure, you weren't perfect, but you don't have to be. Give it a few weeks and you'll get the hang of it."

"Thanks, Lynn. Honestly, I don't know how you do it. I mean, you have… ten different sports you do- how do you train for so many sports?"

She scoffed, before replying, "I don't do that many sports, bro. I do football, lacrosse, ice hockey, basketball, roller derby, soccer, soft- er… well, you know. And I also do wrestling, but that's more a self defense thing. And I don't do them all at once. Lacrosse and football are in the summer, ice hockey's at winter, soccer and you-know-what are in spring, and basketball is… well, I would be doing that at the moment if it weren't for… well, you know."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he added with a frown.

"Eh, it happens. Anyway, I don't train as much for roller derby or ice hockey, since I get pretty much all the training I need at practice, but I keep active outside of practice to keep strong. As for the other stuff, it all kind of overlaps in what I need to train. I mean, I need to work on my upper body more for basketball and lacrosse, and more on my lower body for soccer, but they all demand that I keep active."

"I'll bet! Honestly, I couldn't imagine being able to the stuff you do in your games."

"Well, that's because, A- I'm older, and B- I've been training for some of these sports for a good few years." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, don't let my abilities influence your training. If you want to get better at it, then you will if you keep putting in the effort. You know what you're doing more than I do."

He couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Lynn."

"No problem, bro."

The two hugged each other, releasing a few seconds later with smiles on their faces. "Well, hopefully I can take it easy for a bit."

"LINCOLN! WHERE ARE YOU!"

Lynn immediately burst out laughing at Lola's timely call, while Lincoln simply deadpanned. "Of course she needs me now…"

"Hey, better you than me," Lynn teased, receiving a sarcastic laugh in response before he left.


	27. Ch 27- Halloween pt 1

"AAAAAAH!" All eleven Loud kids looked out of their bedrooms to see their father rush down the ladder to the attic, then run down stairs screaming, "I HATE HALLOWEEN!"

As they all rolled their eyes and returned to their rooms, Lincoln turned to the viewer. "Yep. It's another Halloween in the Loud House, which means that whilst everyone else is working on finishing their costumes or helping to decorate, dad will be hiding in his and mom's bedroom, trying to figure a way out of our younger sisters trick or treating, since myself and my older sisters will each be heading to a different party, and Lucy isn't really old enough to take the others trick or treating." He then frowned slightly. "Plus, after what happened last year, mom won't want them going out by themselves." After a small shake of his head in remembrance of what happened with those bullies, he continued. "Still, I'm looking forward to tonight- it might not be trick or treating, but it'll be my first Halloween party, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with the guys, and with Girl Jordan and the others."

"**Nosebleeder to Icecap, come in, Icecap,"** he heard his walkie go off, so he grabbed it from his task and held it up to his face.

"This is Icecap, come in, Nosebleeder,"he replied.

"**Hey, Lincoln!"**

The Loud boy had to take it away from his ear because of how enthusiastically Clyde spoke. "Easy there, Clyde. So, are you guys still coming to the Halloween party?"

"**Yep! I've got my costume ready, and I'm meeting the guys so we can walk there."**

"Great! I'd walk with you, but because there are so many of my sisters going to different parties, Lori is gonna carpool us in Vanzilla, but I'll still see you guys there."

"**Okay, sounds good. I need to go, my dad's are calling me."**

"Okay, Clyde. See you at the party." He hung up the walkie and put it back on his desk. "Right. Guess I should go see if Lola needs any help before we head for her pageant."

He walked out to the landing, where he could see his sisters up to their usual activities- Luna working on her latest guitar song, Lori texting with Bobby, Lucy working on her poetry, Luan practicing her ventriloquism with Mr Coconuts. While his family were big fans of Halloween (his father excluded, off course), it usually wasn't until later when they really showed it, when they were costumes and ready to go out.

As he approached the twins' bedroom, Lincoln saw it burst open when Lana rushed out and ran away, with Lola popping her head out and yelling, "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR PETS AWAY FROM MY MAKEUP KIT!" When she saw Lincoln, however, her scowl Of fury was replaced with a smile. "Hi, Linky!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her switch from angry to 'sweet'. "Hey, Lola," he greeted. "I came to see if you needed any help before we go to your pageant."

"Actually, I do! I need to get my emergency makeup kit, since Lana's dumb snake wriggled its way into my regular one. I keep it in a secret place, so can you do me a favour and fetch my pageant outfit from Leni while I get it? She should have placed it in my bag for me."

"No problem. I'll go get it, and we'll go when you're ready."

"Great! Thanks, Linky!"

He nodded, then made his way towards the fashionista's room. On the way, he heard Lucy ask, "Hey, Lincoln? I need a rhyme for 'scream'."

"How about 'extreme'?"

She checked her poem, then replied, "thanks, Lincoln."

He smiled at her as she returned to her room, only for Lynn to come out straight after, twirling a basketball on her finger. "Hey, Linc, you got time for some one on one?"

"Sorry, Lynn, but I'm helping Lola prepare for her pageant, then going to watch her perform. If I get the chance later, sure."

"Fair enough."

After she headed downstairs, Lincoln continued towards the furthest bedroom on the left, thankful to not have any further sisterly interruptions as he made his way in, seeing Leni sat at her sewing desk, working on her costume. With a knock on the door, he got her attention and she smiled at him. "Hey, Linky!"

"Hey, Leni. Lola asked me to come get her pageant costume?"

"Oh, totes! Hang on, I'll get it for you."

"Thanks, Leni." As she got up and approached the closet, he asked, "so, are you looking forward to your party tonight?"

"You bet! It'll be so much fun! I bet you're looking forward to your party too."

"Yeah, I am, actually. As much as I enjoy trick or treating, it'll be nice to do something different this year."

"I know what you mean. Oh, before I forget, your costume is ready for you tonight. I might need to make a couple of adjustments, but you'll need to put it on for that."

"Okay." She then pulled down a pink duffel bag and handed it to her brother. "Thanks, Leni."

"No probs, Linky. Wish Lola luck for me."

"Will do."

* * *

So, after Lola gathered all of her necessary things, Lincoln let their parents know that they were off, and the two of them made their way to the pageant. As they walked under the sunny sky, the two of them talked about how Lola was feeling about her pageant- which, as always, she was feeling confident- as well as how much they were looking forward to later on. While Lola was surprised that Lincoln wouldn't be trick or treating this year, she didn't pass up on the opportunity to tease her brother by suggesting that he might have a romantic dance with Girl Jordan at the party, much to his chagrin.

Eventually, they reached the performance centre, a dark red building with a large car park behind it. Above the main entrance was a black sign with orange cobweb patterns and orange spooky writing that read, _Royal Woods Lil' Bewitcher Pageant_. Making their way inside, Lola led the way to the reception desk, where she saw a fair skinned man in a grey tuxedo with a black bow tie, with red framed, yellow tinted sunglasses and black and white hair. As she approached, he smiled at her. "Ah, Miss Loud!" He greeted. "I was wondering when you would arrive!"

"Pardon my tardiness, Mr Dufresne," she replied. "Halloween's can be quite hectic in my home."

"Of course, Miss Loud." He then turned his gaze to Lincoln. "And I see that your coach is with you again. It's lovely to see you again."

"Uh, thanks," Lincoln told him, before muttering, "I think."

"Well, I'm certain you will want to prepare, so by all means, head on through."

"Thank you." Lola then turned to Lincoln. "Let's go."

He nodded and followed his sister through, till they reached the stage, with the red velvet curtains on either side coming into view. Lincoln walked past the red cushioned chairs as the two of them walked up to the door on the left. "Okay, Lola, you ready for this?"

She gave him a confident smirk and said, "aren't I always?" She gave a posh laugh and prepared to say more, but instead donned a serious look as a girl with ginger long hair wearing a grilled teal dress and bow approached. "Lindsay…"

"Lola…" she shot back, sticking her nose back up. "I see you're here to take second place."

Lola scoffed. "I couldn't do that. Otherwise, what would you take?"

The ginger girl rolled her eyes. "We'll see. After all, talent is where I will shine most. I'd say I'll see you up there, but it's more likely that you'll see me instead."

Without waiting for a response, she strutted off, leaving Lola to growl. "Hey, Lola, look at me," Lincoln told her, getting her attention. "Don't focus on her. Focus on what you're going to do instead, and I know you'll crush it."

Her smirk returned as she told him, "don't worry, Lincoln. I'm a professional."

He smiled. "There we go. Do you want me to be backstage?"

"No thanks, Lincoln. I'd rather you be watching from the front row. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pageant to win."

* * *

About half an hour later, Lincoln watched from the front row as Donnie appeared on stage with a microphone. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, parents and family members, friends and neighbours, to a Spooktacle, the likes of which you have never seen- the Royal Woods Lil' Bewitcher Pageant!" The audience clapped the introduction, before he spoke once again. "Now, as much as I love the spotlight, it is not for me- prepare yourselves, as these little misses will cast you under their spell should you do them wrong. The stars of the show… the mistresses of magic… this year's contestants!"

With that, music began to play, and one by one, the different pageant contestants made their way onto the stage as Donnie introduced them, to show off their witch costumes, with the judges making notes on the way they walked, posed and smiled, while the audience clapped. "Next up, with her bewitching ribbon dance, she can wrap you round her little finger… Lola Loud!"

'You have no idea,' Lincoln thought with a chuckle as Lola made her way to the front of the stage in her costume, moving in time with the music before tipping her hat to the judges and giving a curtsy, then making her way to the back of the stage, where she stood next to the other contestants.

"And lastly, she may be sweet by name, but don't take her lightly… give it up for Lindsay Sweetwater!" Lincoln noticed as Lola gave a small scowl as her pageant rival made her way onto the stage in a witch's outfit that matched her usual dress, with glittery make up, and a tiara rather than a witch's hat. She pranced to the stage and gave a little twirl, then waved her wand as she curtsied, before making her way back to the line.

'Alright, Lola… you've got this.'

"Now, as always, there are two components," Donnie explained. "There's the talent component, where our little witches show off their skills in a performance of their choosing, but first, we have the interviews! Each contestant will get a different question to answer, and this time round, they have a magical theme. How do we decide who gets what question?" He walked down the stairs towards the judges. "Why, isn't it obvious? We choose…" He then held up a brown witch's hat, and exclaimed, "from a hat!" The audience gave a collective chuckle at his joke as he made his way up the stairs. "Now, first up, we have Roxanne. Let's see what question we have for you!"

So, one by one, the girls would step forward, and Donnie would pull out a question for them to answer, which they would before stepping back. After most of the other contestants did this, it was Lola's turn. "Okay, Lola," he told her as he pulled a sheet of paper out of her hat. "Your question is… 'do you believe that magic exists in our world'?"

Lola gave a confident smile and spoke into the mic, "that's an easy one. Magic does exist in our world, of course, but the kind of magic we experience isn't like that you see in movies or read in books. Put quite simply, the fact that we continue to grow and change, adapt and learn, take our experiences and use them to become better and smarter people… sometimes, that's all the magic that you need."

It was clear by Donnie's widened eyes that her answer impressed him. "Now, THAT is a great answer! Don't you agree, folks?" The audience was already clapping in response to her answer as the judges wrote down their thoughts, before Lola curtsied once more and made her way back to the line. "Now, last but not least, we have Lindsay. Come on up!" She walked forward with a smile while he picked out the final question. "Your question is this: 'if granted with magical abilities, what would be the first thing you changed about the world'?"

He held the mic down for her to speak into. "Well, I would have to say that the one thing about our Earth that needs changing, is that there is too much negativity. If I possessed magical powers, I would want everyone to be happy, nothing more, nothing less."

The crowd gave out an "aww" as they applauded her answer, except for Lincoln, who clapped along to be polite, while thinking, 'that was a good answer too. I can see why Lola considers her to be her rival.'

"Well, folks, that ends the interview component! We're going to take a five minute break while we prepare for the talent performances, so feel free to grab a drink at the back."

As the audience got to their feet, Lincoln decided to check on how Lola was doing. Walking through the door he saw Lola go before, and saw his sister stood stretching. "Psst! Lola!" Hearing her brother, she walked over to him. "You're doing great so far!"

"Thanks, Linky! As much as I hate to admit, especially with her," she stared daggers at the Sweetwater girl, before looking back at her brother, "it's going to be close."

"Well, don't worry. I know you'll kill it with your ribbon dance."

"I hope so. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about the finale."

He knelt down so he could put a hand on her shoulder, allowing her to see his warm, caring eyes. "Hey… I know you can do this. Now, go out there, knock the judges dead, and win this thing!"

Feeling inspired, she smiled and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

"Alright, give it up for Cindy!" Donnie announced as a girl in a yellow witch costume bowed to the clapping audience, before walking back to the line with her flute. "Two more contestants yet to go, and it's anyone's competition! Up next, with a ribbon dance choreographed to the song,_ I Put A Spell On You_, give it up… for miss Lola Loud!"

The audience applauded as Lola took to the stage once more, ribbon stick made to look like a wand in hand. As the applause died down, she took her position centre stage, and waited for the music to hit. 'Go on, Lola,' Lincoln willed. 'You've got this.'

As the opening line of the song echoed from the speakers, her routine began, and she tossed her hat to the side, landing offstage on a hatstand. She raised up her 'wand', producing the ribbon tied to it and an "ooh" from the audience. From there, every movement she made was to perfection, both in time with the music and exactly as she had rehearsed it. Every twirl, circle, snake, flick and throw she made with her ribbon was elegant and flowing, one to the next, not a single error in her steps or knot to be seen. As the song neared its end, Lincoln watched on intensely, awaiting for the big finale. He crossed his fingers and watched her sister continue, only to stop as the beat dropped. She set her sights, threw her ribbon stick into the air, rushed forward to perform the walkover as time seemed to slow down…

… and landed it perfectly, the stick landing in her hand with ease as she twirled it around, the ribbon surrounding her as the music neared the final note, then performing one final flick to signpost her performance. Immediately after the music stopped, Lincoln leapt to his feet and applauded his sister, with the audience joining him straight after. Lola saw the huge smile her brother wore on his face made her feel good, a sign that it had gone better than she hoped. As she looked to the judges and saw that she had received a perfect score, she gave a curtsy to the audience while Donnie returned to the stage. "Wasn't that marvellous?" He announced. "Give it up one more time to Lola Loud!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Lola and Lincoln made their way out of the pageant hall, the latter carrying the former's bag on his shoulder while giving her a piggy back. Lola's face was beaming with glee, her head now adorned with a shiny silver tiara with a spiderweb pattern. "And another win for the unbeatable Lola Loud!" Lincoln cheered, his imitation of Donnie making Lola giggle.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Linky," she replied. "I know I probably don't say it enough, but I really appreciate everything you do to help me. I love you, Linky."

His heart swelled with pride. "I love you too, Lola." He then got a smirk. "Now, hold on tight."

Before she could say anything, he took off in a run, the two laughing all the way back home.


	28. Ch 28- Halloween pt 2

**(A/N: Hey, guys. I want to thank you guys, because this story has hit THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS! Seriously, that's phenomenal! I never could have imagined any of my stories reaching such a milestone, and on top of that, my profile has reached TWO HUNDRED FAVOURITES, so to everyone, thank you so, so much!**

**Now, in terms of this part of the story, thank you to everyone who gave costume suggestions, I really appreciate them. In particular, I want to give a shoutout to DMan51, FiveInTheMorn and AstralWhip, whose ideas for Joy, Mollie and Luan respectively will appear in this chapter, and the next one.**

**Also, here's a bonus shoutout opportunity- in this chapter, I've referenced a tv show but the name I've used is also a reference to a different tv show. If you can get it, I'll give you a shoutout in the next chapter.**

**All that's left to say, is thank you guys for reading, and enjoy!)**

A few hours had passed since he returned from the pageant hall, and Lincoln was now stood in his bedroom, checking his reflection in the mirror. He stood there, adorned in a black dress shirt with pattern in the stitching on the cuffs, black trousers, a black cape that covered his shoulders and hid the holster to the rapier he held in his hands, black dress shoes and a wide brimmed, black fedora with a white trim. He waved his rapier about, careful not to hit anything, before placing it back in his holster.

"Looking good, Linc," he said to himself, immediately following it up by thinking, 'good thing my sister's aren't listening in on me. Lord knows how long they'd remind me of this.'

"OKAY, GUYS! BE READY IN TEN MINUTES, OR I LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!" He heard Lori call out.

Knowing that whenever Lori said that, she meant it, Lincoln stepped out onto the landing. While he could see the far bathroom door shutting, the far end of the landing was mostly empty. To his immediate right, however, he saw the twins' door open up, and Lola stepped out first, wearing a yellow t-shirt, black trousers and black shoes, with small fairy wings on her bag, pearl earrings, a pink wig and a tiny crown on her head, and a wand in her hand with a yellow star on the end. Right after her, Lana appeared, the older twin wearing a white button up shirt with a black tie, black trousers and shoes, a green wig on her head, and the same sort of wings, wand and crown as Lola. The two twins saw their brother and smiled.

"Hey, Lincoln!"

He smiled back. "Hey, girls," he greeted back. "You guys doing matching costumes again?"

"Uh Huh," Lana answered. "We're the fairies from that show, My Godparents Are Fairies."

"And this year, we're going to have more candy than anyone else in the house," Lola boasted, prompting her brother to chuckle.

"I hope so. You're sharing, remember?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is impossible," they heard Lisa say, prompting them to turn around and see the kindergarten PhD dressed in a red skirt, a white t shirt with black laces, red shoes and a red hooded skirt. She was stood next to what appeared to be a picnic basket on wheels. "Once again, I have calculated that the cuteness factor will be the key to a significant candy haul, and have used that to my advantage."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "How?"

Lisa merely smirked, placed a hand on the picnic basket and lifted up the lid, allowing Lily to pop out in a wolf costume. "Arf! Arf!"

"AAAAAAW!" The boy and the two twins gushed immediately, their hearts melting at the sight.

"That's adorable." The five of them all shrieked in shock, leaping up and turning around to see Lucy had snuck up on them. Lincoln was the first to notice her costume- a grey wedding gown, with a veil covering her face, her skin painted a greyish blue, and a grey, wilted looking bouquet in her hands. She gave a small smile at their reaction. "Glad my costume works."

Lola grunted. "Why couldn't you be a ghost cat instead of a ghost bride?" She asked, irritated by the startling. "That way, we could put a bell on you."

Lucy sighed, ignoring Lana's snickers. "Whatever."

"Has anyone seen my wings?" They heard Leni call out from her room.

"Hang on," Lincoln called back, then turned to his younger sisters. "Enjoy trick or treating, girls."

As they thanked him, he made his way past them and walked down the landing towards the eldest sisters' bedroom, where he saw Leni looking under her bed while wearing a light gold knee high skirt. Looking around the room, Lincoln's face deadpanned. "Leni, your wings are on your chair," he told her.

She reached her head out from under the bed, revealing the halo headband on her head, and smiled when she saw that her brother was right. "Oh, there they are! Thanks, Linky," she told him.

"No problem." He watched as her sister got up and walked over to the chair, grabbing the light golden feathered wings and putting one strap over her left shoulder. When he saw her struggle with the other strap, however, his brotherly instincts kicked in. "Here, let me help."

He walked over to her and grabbed the other strap, holding it up so Leni could place her arm through it. "Thanks, Linky, that's so sweet of you."

"It was nothing."

She turned around to face him, and her smile grew when she saw her brother. "Eeh! Your costume looks, like, totes great on you!"

His smile grew to match his sister's. "Well, it wouldn't if you didn't make it, so thank you."

She giggled at her brother's words, then pulled him into a hug. "Anything for my little brother." They held each other in their hug for a few seconds before letting go.

"We better head downstairs before Lori gets impatient."

She nodded, before following her brother downstairs. Once in the living room, they could see both Luan and Luna sat on the couch. The comedienne was wearing what appeared to be a bee outfit, with a yellow and black striped fuzzy top and skirt, matching leggings, black shoes, a pair of wings with yellow swirls on her back, and a hairband with black antennas that had yellow tips. The musician, on the other hand, was wearing a white band t-shirt under an unbuttoned black waistcoat, a pink overshirt wrapped around her waist, black shorts with a yellow smiley face patch over white jogging bottoms rolled up to her knees, grey wool socks with red tops inside black skater shoes, a black wristband and a black wig.

"I was wondering when you'd _bee_ here," Luan punned, following it up with her laugh. "Get it?"

The three others in the room groaned, with Luna adding, "if you're gonna be like this the whole ride, I might as well walk."

"Why not just _time_ travel there?" Her quip earned a second set of groans. "Aw, come on! What can I say? Halloween just gives me such a _buzz_!"

She laughed again, while her siblings just rolled their eyes. "So, bro, pretty rad costume you got there," Luna complimented. "Leni help you with that?"

"She sure did," he replied, while the fashionista smiled proudly. "Nice Beth costume, by the way. Is Sam going as Jill?"

"You know it, brah. Can't have one member of Crazey Horsys without the other."

Lincoln gave a small chuckle. "I'll bet. So, who else are we waiting for?"

"HYAH!" They heard someone shout from upstairs, followed by the sound of something breaking. Unsurprised by this, Lincoln and Luna looked at each other with deadpan faces.

"Lynn."

Their suspicions were confirmed a few moments later, when the middle schooler slid down the banister wearing a black hooded ninja costume, with black shoes, a black face mask, red spiked arm gauntlets and a red belt round her waist. She leapt off the banister at the bottom and performed a combat roll upon landing, drawing her nunchucks and beginning to wave them around.

"LYNN! YOU BETTER NOT BREAK ANYTHING, OR YOU'RE GROUNDED!" They all heard their mother shout from the kitchen, which prompted the others to snigger while Lynn groaned, putting her nunchucks away.

"Whatever," she muttered to herself, then turned to her brother. "Lucero… nice costume, bro. Didn't take you for a fan of those films."

"Are you kidding? He's so awesome! He's like a real superhero! Except for the powers, of course."

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Should've known you'd find a way to nerd it up."

"Pfft! Yeah, you're just jealous that my costume is more badass than yours!"

She scoffed. "Please! Everyone knows if Lucero came face to face with a ninja, the ninja would win."

"No way. Lucero would kick that ninja's ass."

"Wanna bet?"

"Easy, dudes," Luna said, breaking up a potential fight. "No need to fight, come on. It's Halloween, for crying out loud."

"Yeah, let's not _brawl out_," Luan quipped, her usual laugh and "get it" following, which was met with the same groans as usual.

"IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY DOWNSTAIRS, GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN THERE OR I'LL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!" Lori called out from upstairs, her five oldest siblings looking up the stairs to see her dressed like an Egyptian goddess, wearing a white and gold tunic, golden high heeled shoes, long gold wristbands with tassels, a gold choker with white outline and a red gem in the centre, and a gold serpent crown in her hair. As she made her way down the stairs, she was surprised to see everyone waiting for her. "Oh. I guess you're all ready to go."

"Yeah, just waiting on you, sis," Luna said with a smirk.

"Right, uh… I'll just… get the keys from mom." She turned to the dining room and called out, "mom! We're ready!"

The matriarch of the Loud family appeared from the kitchen, smiling when she saw her kids in their costumes. "You all look amazing!" She complimented, walking over to Lori and handing her the keys to Vanzilla. "You've got everything?"

"Don't worry, mom, we'll be fine."

"Alright sweetie." She then turned to the others. "You kids have fun tonight, and remember to be back by eleven sharp."

"We will!" They all replied, to which their mother nodded.

"Alright. Now I've just got to get your father to come out of the basement."

"I'M NOT GOING!" He cried, which they all heard. While the kids snickered, Rita sighed, putting a hand on her hip and shaking her head before walking away to get him.

"Alright, I don't want to be late, so let's go," Lori instructed, leading her family out of the house. They got into the van one by one, with Lori taking the driver's seat.

"Hey, have you heard this one?" Luan asked. "A ninja, a bee, a rocker, an angel, a goddess and a swordsman get into a van-"

"And the bee's gonna get hit by the ninja's nunchucks if you don't shut up," Lynn countered.

"Aww… I can't do jokes at Halloween? Don't be such a _weenie_." Her laughter and her siblings' groans echoed throughout as Lori pulled the van out of the driveway, and drove off.

* * *

As Lori drove around town, dropping her sisters off at their destinations, Luna was the first one to get out, heading into her girlfriend's house. Lynn was next, being dropped off at her roller derby rink, before eventually Vanzilla arrived outside of Girl Jordan's house. Stepping out of the van, Lincoln could see the lights from inside showing that there were already quite a few people there, in spite of the skeleton decoration hanging on the window.

"Alright, Lincoln, same goes for you- when I get here, don't mess around. Just get in, so we can go."

He rolled his eyes at his eldest sister's 'request'. "I get it, I'll head straight out," he replied.

"Have fun, Linky!" Leni chirpily told him.

"Yeah, go have a _Hallo _a time!" Luan joked, laughing loudly. "Get it?"

The three other Louds simply groaned. "I wish I could have dropped you off first," Lori complained, before driving off. Lincoln watched her drive away, giving a wave to Leni who stuck her head out of the window to wave at him, before making his way towards the front door, where he rang the bell. He didn't have to wait long, as the door opened, allowing him to hear the EDM music playing inside. Stood by the door was none other than Girl Jordan, though he was surprised by her costume- she was wearing a cream t-shirt with a navy tank top underneath and a red leather jacket on top, dark grey ripped jeans and dark brown combat boots. However, the detail that made it clear what her costume was, was the white and blue baseball cap with a blue 'D' on the front.

"Hey, Girl Jordan," Lincoln greeted, letting her know who it was.

"Lincoln!" She greeted back with a smile. "Almost didn't recognise you for a second there."

They both had a laugh at this. "Yeah, Leni really did a great job with this costume. Though, it seems like your sister did just as good a job with your Caroline costume."

"Yeah, I really appreciate her doing this for me. I wasn't sure who to go as this year, but then I remembered playing this game, and thought Caroline would be a good choice."

"Well, it looks great."

"Aww, thanks! Come on in." He thanked her, then followed her inside. "I haven't seen the guys or Stella yet, so they must still be on the way. Kat said she and Sadie are gonna be a little late, but Joy, Mollie and Artie are around somewhere."

"Yeah, I remember Clyde telling me they were going to meet up so they can walk here together."

"Oh, Okay. I need to check on something real quick, so I guess I'll catch up with you later, then."

"Sure thing, Girl Jordan." He noticed her smile waver for a second, concerning him. "Is everything okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm just thinking about… that thing I need to deal with. Excuse me."

As she walked away, Lincoln couldn't help but think about what happened. 'Something was definitely bothering her,' he pondered, 'but I can't think what. I wonder…' After a few seconds, he shook his head. 'No point fretting over it now. I should let it go for now, let her enjoy the party for a bit, and ask her about it later.' With that, he stepped inside.


	29. Ch 29- Halloween pt 3

**(A/N: Hey, everyone! Now, as I mentioned last chapter, I mentioned a reference to a TV show. While some of you correctly got that the twins' costumes were based on Fairly Oddparents, the name of the show I gave it was a spoof on the show, My Parents Are Aliens. One of you was able to correctly get it, so shoutout to TURP for doing so.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

Making his way through the crowd of costumed partygoers, Lincoln eventually found some of his friends sat down on the couch, so he made his way over. Artie was dressed in a white karate gi with a black belt, black sandals (because walking to the house barefoot would have been torture), red MMA gloves and a black headband. Mollie was wearing an amber and yellow battle suit, with a blue arm cannon, red chestplate and a red helmet with a green visor, though she currently had the helmet resting on her lap. Joy was wearing a white leotard with a blue collar and a red bow on the chest and the back, a blue skirt, red knee high, heeled boots, white elbow length gloves, a choker with a golden moon on the centre, a gold tiara and a long blonde wig split into two ponytails.

Artie was the first to see the Loud boy approach. "Hey, Lincoln!" He greeted, loudly enough to be heard over the music, alerting the others. "You made it."

"Hey, Artie," he greeted back, then turned to the girls and said, "hey, girls."

"Nice Lucero costume, Loud," Mollie complimented.

"Thanks. Same goes for your costume. It's Amis, right?"

She nodded. "So, where did Jordan disappear to?"

"She said she had to take care of something." He then dropped his smile, checking that she wasn't nearby before speaking again. "Hey, do you know if everything's okay with her?"

She tilted her head, her eyes squinting in confusion. "Yeah, I think so, why?"

"I dunno, but when I spoke to her before, she seemed a bit down. I was wondering if you knew." She turned to Joy, and then they both simply shrugged and shook their heads, causing him to sigh. "Okay. I'll try and ask her later, I guess."

"I'm sure it's nothing, man," Artie assured him.

"Yeah, she's probably just trying to juggle everything with the party," Joy added. "She'll be fine, just let her enjoy the party for a bit. If there is something, she'll talk to you."

He nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Joy."

"What, no thanks for me?" Artie joked, to which the others laughed.

"Hey!" They heard someone call to them, and turned to see Kat and Sadie had arrived. Whilst Kat was dressed in a sleeveless white button up shirt with a light blue tie, black skirt with blue trim, black knee high socks, black shoes with blue soles, long black arm sleeves that reached just short of her shoulders and black and red headphones under a long blue wig in pigtails, Sadie was dressed as an anthropomorphic foxlike creature, wearing a brown dress and leggings, brown pointy ears with darker 'inner ears' on a hairband, a fluffy brown tail with a cream coloured tip, a cream coloured furry ruff round her neck, and brown paw gloves with pink pawpads. She even had the tip of her nose painted black. "Sorry we're late, there was someone bullying a little kid, and it didn't feel right to just let it happen."

"Aww… is the kid okay?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah. He was a bit upset that they took his candy, but Sadie cheered him up a bit."

"Vixee!" The brunette cheered, making Kat groan.

"That's all she's said the whole way here…"

The others chuckled, before Lincoln looked past the couch and saw some more familiar faces. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys in a bit," he told them. "I'm gonna say hi to some of the others."

"Okay," they replied whilst nodding, before he walked away. Making his way through the crowd again, he found Clyde and the others, who he had seen just arrive. "Hey, you made it!"

"Hey, Lincoln!" Clyde greeted, with the others also saying "hey". Looking at his friends, he saw that they were dressed in a variety of costumes- Clyde was wearing his One Eyed Jack costume; Zach was dressed as some sort of mad scientist, with protective goggles on his head, a white lab coat on top of his usual shirt and jeans, lab gloves and boots; Liam was wearing a multicolour striped t-shirt underneath a pair of denim dungarees, striped socks and red sneakers, plus some painted on scars on his face; Stella was wearing a black hooded jacket that reached her thighs on top of a green button up shirt, tawny trousers, a sturdy brown belt and black combat boots, and had an archer's bow on her back; and Rusty… well, Lincoln couldn't tell who or what Rusty was supposed to be. All he could see was that he was wearing a leather jacket over a white v-neck, leather pants and cowboy boots, plus shades and his hair slicked back. "So, uh… who are you supposed to be?"

"Believe me, we asked," Stella told him with a smirk, "and we still don't know."

Rusty rolled his eyes at her. "I told you, I'm Jack Furrows!"

They all immediately told him, "who's that?"

"Ugh, you guys have no taste when it comes to movies. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go see if any of the ladies here actually do."

He then walked off, leading Zach to turn to Liam and go, "guarantee someone slaps him."

"How many times?" Liam added, causing both boys to chuckle.

"So, Linc, I thought you were going as Ace Savvy again," Clyde asked.

"Yeah, I was originally, but I wanted to go with something different this year," the Loud boy explained to his friend.

"Well, I think you look awesome like that," Stella commended. "That's an amazing costume!"

He smiled. "Thanks, Stella. Though, I owe my sister Leni for that- she made it herself."

"That's pretty cool."

"OW!"

They all looked through the crowd, where they could see Rusty shamefully rubbing his red cheek, causing everyone to shake their head as Zach went, "told you so."

"Say, Linc, you know where the snack table is?" Liam asked.

"I think it's in the kitchen." The farmboy nodded, then made his way through the crowd, with Lincoln turning to the others once he was gone. "So, what about you guys?"

"I think I'm gonna go see what the DJ is playing," Stella replied.

"Count me in," Zach added, and the two made their way towards the makeshift dance floor, where a DJ could be seen through the crowd by his set.

"Well, Clyde, guess it's just you and me for the moment being," Lincoln told his friend.

"Then let's party, Clincoln McLoud style!"

* * *

The party proved to be a big hit, in more ways than one. Not only was the food and drinks station a hit with all the partygoers, but the DJ was an even bigger hit, with the college student dressed as the devil providing constant entertainment for the kids. Of course, there was more than just the DJ to keep people entertained.

"Hey, Loud!" Lincoln heard Mollie call to him from the kitchen, a smirk on her face. "Get your butt over here!"

Lincoln looked to Clyde, who shrugged, before they made their way towards the brunette in the armour suit. "What's up?" He asked.

"You and me, apple bobbing, now," she challenged, arms crossed in a confident stance.

He smirked back at her, mirroring her stance. "Alright. Name the rules, and the wager."

"We've got ourselves a competition!" He heard Artie call out, gathering a bit of a crowd around the two as they stood at the kitchen island, two small buckets filled with water and apples and two bowls next to them, one in front of each of them. "Alright, the game is speed- first one to grab five apples with their teeth and place them in the bowl wins. Loser has to drink…" He presented a gold plastic goblet. "This. The Tonic Of Evil!" The crowd 'oohed' at the punishment. "No saying what's in it until you've drunk it. You ready?"

Mollie placed her helmet on the table and gazed at her opponent with fire in her eyes. "Ready."

Lincoln removed his mask and hat, handing them to Clyde, before returning the gaze with equal fire in his eyes. "Ready."

"Alright, hands behind your backs!" Artie demanded, to which they obliged. "Three… two… one… bob!"

With that, the two sixth graders began bobbing for apples, the crowd cheering them on. Mollie was the first one to remove her head from the water, placing an apple in the bowl next to her bucket, but as soon as she went in for number two, Lincoln evened the scores and went right back for another. The two of them went at it for a good minute and a half, the crowd not relenting their support. Just when it looked like Mollie was going to win, having placed her fourth apple in the bowl and going for the last one, Lincoln practically threw his fourth apple into the bowl, dunked his head in the water and immediately found another apple to put back in the bowl.

"WINNER!" Clyde declared, raising the wet haired boy's arm in victory as Mollie removed her head with the final apple in her teeth. She looked at him in disbelief, wiping the hair out of her face, before she spat the bowl out and smirked.

"Nice one, Loud," she told him, extending her hand. After Clyde let go of his arm, Lincoln returned the smirk, then grabbed her hand and shook it out of respect. "Good game." He nodded, before she let go of the handshake, then took the cup from Artie. "Well… bottoms up." She could smell how bad it smelled, but stuck to her word and downed the drink in one, immediately regretting it as she put the cup down. She screamed as she rushed over to the sink, dipping her head under and turning on the tap to cool her burning mouth. "What the hell was that?!" She yelled, before throwing her head under again.

"That, my friends," Artie announced, "was a combination of onion water, wasabi and hot sauce!"

Everyone winced in disgust, making noises to match. "Glad I won then," Lincoln uttered.

"Same here," Girl Jordan told him as he approached the boy. "Mollie's been bragging that she could beat anyone all night. About time someone beat her."

They both chuckled, before they heard the music change, and the crowd began to disperse. "Hey, I think I know this song."

"I love this song!" Girl Jordan looked to Lincoln. "Come on, let's dance!"

He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think so. I'm not a dancer."

"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!"

At this point, Kat and Sadie also joined her. "Yeah, come on, Lincoln. Let's see your moves!" Kat encouraged.

"Yeah, let's go!" Sadie agreed.

"Girls, really, I don't-" he tried to argue, but they successfully managed to drag him towards the dance area, causing him to jokingly groan. "Fine, I'll dance!"

The three girls grinned and giggled as they watched him shyly try to dance. "Come on, Lincoln, is that all you've got?" Girl Jordan challenged. "Just let yourself go, and dance!"

He could tell she was just teasing, but it helped him ease into it, his movements becoming more fluid and free. "There you go, Loud!" Kat cheered as she and the girls joined him. "Woo!"

As they chuckled and enjoyed themselves, Liam, Zach and Rusty couldn't help but watch on from the sidelines. "Man, Lincoln's really letting loose!" Zach commented.

"Yeah, him and the girls are having more fun than Virginia in mud after the rain's stopped!" Liam added.

Rusty, however, rubbed his cheek after yet another slap and mumbled, "lucky…"

* * *

As the party wound down, and everyone else had begun to make their way home, Girl Jordan walked with Mollie to the door. "Thanks for coming," she told her friend.

"Hey, thanks for having me, girl," Mollie replied, before the two gave each other a hug. "See you at practice on Sunday."

"See you at practice." She waved as Mollie walked away, then started to head back inside, when she noticed that Lincoln was still there, and was actually cleaning up. "Lincoln? I thought you left."

He looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, hey, Girl Jordan," he replied. "My sisters aren't here yet, so I thought I'd help you to clean up a bit, since I'm guessing your parents will be mad at you if you don't."

She giggled. "You don't have to do that, Lincoln. I can handle it, it's not that messy here."

"I know, but I kind of want to."

"Well, I won't say no to you helping, then." She then began to work with him, picking up lose wrappers and cups. "So, did you like the party?"

"Yeah, it was awesome! Probably the best party I've been to! You're a great party planner, you know that?"

"Aww, thanks, Lincoln. I'm glad you liked it so much." She leaned toward him, as if other people were there. "Just between you and me, because Mollie will freak if she finds out, but your costume was so much cooler than hers."

The two of them laughed at this, smiles wide on their faces. "Thanks. Though, I'd probably say I prefer yours." She giggled again, making him smile just a little bit more. "So, how did you manage to get a DJ?"

The two of them spent the next five minutes talking about stuff that happened at the party- like how Rusty got slapped and shot down every time he tried to speak to any of the girls at the party, and how Joy freaked out when Kat got knocked and spilled soda over her wig- and during that time, they managed to put all of the rubbish into trash bags, and cleaned up any spills.

"Thank you so much, Lincoln," she told him as they carried the trash bags outside, where they placed them in trash cans. "I really appreciate this."

"No problem," he told her, then heard his phone buzz. Picking it out of his pocket and turning it on, he saw a text from Luan that said:

_Bee there in hive, Linc. Hahaha_

He groaned. "Even in texts, she puns badly," he muttered, before turning to Jordan. "My sisters will be here in five, so I think I'm gonna sit out here until they arrive."

"Mind if I join you?" She asked.

"Sure, go ahead." The two sat down on the lawn near the house, where they could see a couple of kids down the street still trick or treating. Looking up at the sky, Lincoln said, "moon looks nearly full tonight."

She looked up and nodded. "Yeah, it does. Still, the sky would be a lot prettier without the street lights. It'd be so beautiful, full of twinkling stars."

"I know what you mean." The two sat there for about twenty seconds, neither saying a thing, until he looked at her. "Can I ask you something?"

She looked at him with a tilted head. "Sure, Lincoln, what?"

"Well, I was just… I was wondering what was bothering you earlier. Did I say something that upset you?" She frowned at the question, looking down at her feet and pulling her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, then-"

"No, it's okay," she quietly replied, taking a deep breath before she continued. "Lincoln… why do you call me Girl Jordan?"

He blinked, not quite sure what she meant. "Uh…"

"I mean… I get why you do it at school, since there's two Jordan's, and everyone else does, but… when we're not at school, it… it bothers me a little. It didn't as much when we first met, or anything, but recently… I dunno, it just makes me think that, maybe we aren't as good friends as I thought."

Taken aback, Lincoln took about fifteen seconds to absorb and consider this. 'So that's why she was frowning,' he thought, a frown of his own appearing. 'I had no idea… though, now I think about it, I kind of get it. It must suck to be thought of as just someone who shares her name with someone else.' He turned to her again, and hesitated before placing a hand on her shoulder, getting her to look at him. "I'm sorry. I had no idea that you felt that way."

She could tell from his soft eyes that he felt regretful. "Honestly, Linc, it's okay. I mean, it's not that big a deal-"

"Well, it is to me. I don't want to upset you or anything. Did it really bother you that much?"

"Well, kinda. Like I say, it wasn't as bad at first, and I don't mind it at school as much, but…"

He didn't need to hear any more to understand. "Gir- I mean… Jordan… if you don't want me to call you Girl Jordan, then I won't. I'll just call you Jordan from now on." He gave a small smile. "Is that what you'd like?" She couldn't explain it, but the smile he gave her made her feel happier. "Is that a smile I see?"

Realising that she was, she tried to hide her smile. "N-no…"

He smirked, noticing her beginning to crack. "I think it is."

"It- it's not."

"Oh, yes, it is." When she finally smiled, the two shared a laugh before just looking at each other. "But, seriously, if it bothers you, then I won't call you that anymore."

"You're serious?" He nodded. After a couple of seconds, she wrapped her arms around him, convincing him to hug her back. "Thanks, Lincoln."

"No problem, Jordan."

Just then, they heard a car horn, so they let go and turned to see Vanzilla waiting in front of them, with all five of Lincoln's older sisters peering out at them with giddy grins. "Hey, Lincoln, let's go!" Lori called.

"Yeah, Stinkoln, hug your girlfriend another time!" Lynn yelled next, causing the white haired boy to roll his eyes, whilst Jordan blushed a little.

"I better go," Lincoln told her, the two kids getting to their feet and facing each other. "I'll see you at practice?"

She nodded. "I'll see you then."

He nodded back, then began to walk away, the two waving to each other as he got into the van before it drove away, leaving Jordan smiling as she went back inside, with her unable to think of a better way for the night to end.


	30. Ch 30- In Need Of A Gift

**(A/N: Hey, everyone. I know this is, like, the fifth chapter in a row where I've left one of these notes, though this time, it's quite important. Now, as some of you may or may not know, I also write for the Lion King fandom, specifically focusing on the Lion Guard series. Now, the third season has started, which will be the last season for the show, and the story of this season has caused me to change my plans for a story I want to write. Therefore, I have decided that I am going to be managing both this story and that one, which means uploads for this will be less frequent as a result. I hope that doesn't disappoint you guys too much- you've been so supportive for this, and I appreciate that so much. My plan for the moment is to upload a new chapter every three days and alternate between the two, until I have finished either that story or this one. At the moment, I imagine that story will be considerably shorter than this one, but if that plan changes, I'll let you know straight away.**

**Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

The next morning, Lincoln was relaxing in his room after lunch. He had been in high spirits after the Halloween party, so after a shower and breakfast, he decided to take Lynn up on her offer and join her for some parkour training. She took her brother down to the skate park, where Lincoln had previously hung out with Ronnie Anne, and the two of them spent about an hour there, with Lynn pushing Lincoln to test his stamina. While he was completely wiped when he got back, he felt like it had been worth it, especially once he had gotten some lunch into his system.

As he sat in his room, munching a little bit on his share of Lola's trick or treat candy, he found himself messaging the rest of the 'Gal Pals' on his phone.

_Mollie: honestly, Artie, I kinda hate you for that drink_

_Artie: hey, you wanted the challenge, and you lost, so you had to take the punishment_

_Jordan: Yeah, Mollie. Them's the rules_

Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle, imagining that the brunette was probably pouting as she wrote this.

_Mollie: Yeah, well, you got lucky, Lincoln. Next year, you're going down_

_Lincoln: I doubt I'll remember this next year, but sure. That way, I can hold two titles over you- cannonball champion and apple bobbing champion_

_Mollie: ha! Yeah, right. We all know that I'm still cannonball champ, 'undies'_

He was glad this was a group chat and not a group call, because he was blushing furiously at the comment.

_Lincoln: … sh-shut up…_

_Joy: remind me, how did that even happen?_

_Lincoln: I'd really rather not. Besides, no offence, Jordan, but if your dog hadn't ripped up my clothes, that would've been less embarrassing _

_Kat: but her dog is such a sweetie! _

_Sadie: maybe he senses evil_

A few emojis were sent between them, an unamused emoji from Lincoln and laughing emojis from everyone else. He was about to write back, before he heard a series of loud sounds from outside his room.

_Lincoln: I have to go, sounds like my sisters are up to something._

_Jordan: see ya, Lincoln_

He put his phone away in his pocket and got up from his bed, opening his door and stepping out onto the landing to see Luan dizzily staggering out of her room with a drum broken around her head. "You okay, Luan?" He asked, then sternly glared at her with crossed arms. "Are you and Luna fighting again?"

"She told me to _beat_ it," she joked, with a laugh and a "get it?" As was expected by this point, he groaned at the joke. "Seriously, though, me and Luna are practicing for a comedy routine."

He saw Luna walk out of the room she shared with the comedienne, twirling drumsticks in her hands. "You're doing comedy?"

"Yeah, it's a thing for drama class," she explained. "Figured, with my music and her comedy, we'd be making the grade with ease."

Luan nodded to her brother. "We're doing a parody of a Bernie and Attillo sketch."

"Oh, right. Honestly, I kinda forgot we go back to school on Monday."

"Time sure does fly, bro."

"You're right about that. Well, I'll let you go back to rehearsing."

"Later, Lincoln!" As he walked away, the rocker turned to her sister. "Now, let's go again."

"Honestly, Luna, don't beat me over the head with it!"

Lincoln could hear the respective groans and laughter from the two as he reached his bedroom once more, but as he was about to close the door, his eyes widened a bit. 'Wait a minute,' he thought, pulling out his phone. Opening the calendar app, he flicked forward to Monday, and he gasped. 'Of course! Monday is Jordan's birthday! How did I not realise that before?' He put a hand to his chin and went into deeper thought. 'I wonder if I should get her something. After all, she and I have been getting on since she convinced me to try gymnastics, and it would be a nice thing to do… still, I wouldn't know what to get her.' He thought for a few more seconds, before he remembered something. 'Of course! Leni told me that Jordan was one of her favourite customers- maybe she'll know what she might like!'

So, with new resolve and a smile on his face, he left his bedroom once more and headed straight for the bedroom shared by the two eldest sisters, knocking on the door once he reached it. "Enter!" He heard Lori call in response, making him roll his eyes as he opened the door. Walking in, he saw Lori was lying on her bed with a magazine in her hands, but Leni was nowhere to be seen. "What do you want, twerp?"

"Do you know where Leni is?" He asked.

"She went to a friend's house to get started on some fashion project." Lowering her magazine, she saw her brother's face drop in disappointment. "Why, do you need her?"

"I, uh, had something I needed to ask her, but… guess I'll wait until she gets back. Thanks anyway."

As he started to walk away, Lori heard a voice in the back of her head telling her to come back. 'Dang it, big sister sense,' she thought with a sigh. "Lincoln, come back."

Hearing her, he walked back to the bedroom and poked his head in. "Yeah, Lori?"

She sat up and patted the spot next to her. "Sit." He obliged. "Now, I'm guessing since you're looking for Leni, it's something to do with fashion. I might not be as good as Leni, but I can probably still help you."

"Well," he explained, rubbing the back of his head, "it's not exactly to do with fashion. I mean, it might, but I'm not certain."

This only created more questions for the eldest Loud sibling. "What are you talking about?"

"See… it's like this- it's my friend's birthday on Monday, and I have no idea what to get them."

She nodded. "Okay. So, why were you going to ask Leni?" A smirk then appeared as she figured it out for herself. "You wouldn't be talking about Girl Jordan, would you?"

He nodded, lowering his head a little. "Yeah, it is. I was thinking Leni might be able to help me, since she said that Jordan was one of her favourite customers."

"The man with the plan, at it again, I see." She ruffled his hair, getting a small chuckle out of him. "Still, I think it's sweet that you want to get her something."

"Yeah, but it's no good if I can't think of anything she'd like."

"Well, you've come to the right person," she assured him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "And I know just where to look."

* * *

The next day, the Loud siblings made their way into the mall once again. "Okay, everyone!" Lori declared. "You know the drill- be at the food court by twelve, and don't spend over your budget."

"RIGHT!" They all declared, before starting to go their separate ways.

"Luna, you sure you don't mind watching Lily this time?" Lori checked with the rocker.

"No problem, Lori," she assured her older sister. "Me and Lilybug are gonna have a rockin' time. Right, Lilybug?"

The infant gave a happy gargle of noises that they couldn't help but find adorable. "Alright. Well, we'll hopefully be done quick with what we need, so one of us will switch with you when we're done."

"You got it."

Lori nodded, before leading Lincoln and Leni away. "So, first of all, let's recap what we talked about yesterday. What are you not going to get her?"

"Comics or any nerd paraphernalia," Lincoln answered, rolling his eyes. "I get it, okay?"

"Good."

"So, why am I here?" Leni asked.

"Because you'll be able to help Lincoln tell what will go with her regular clothes and what won't."

Leni smiled happily. "Ooh! I can do that!"

"Seriously, girls, thank you," Lincoln told them. "I appreciate this."

"Aww, come here, Linky," Lori told him as she and Leni stopped to hug their brother, who hugged them back for a couple of seconds before they let go. "Now, come on. If there's anywhere in this mall that will have what you want, it's here."

Lincoln followed the girls as they led him into Reininger's, which was just as busy as ever. "So, what should we check first?"

"Well, I think we should start small and work our way up," Lori suggested. "Start with make up and accessories, then move onto jewellery, and after that we'll look at clothes."

Lincoln looked skeptical. "I dunno, Lori… I'm not sure if that's the kind of stuff Jordan would want."

"I've seen her checking stuff like that before," Leni pointed out. "I'm sure she'll, like, totes love it."

"Well… Okay. I'll trust you two on this."

Lori gave a comforting smile and patted him on the shoulder, saying "you're making the right decision," before leading him further in the store. The first idea they tried was makeup, but no matter what they showed him, Lincoln didn't think it was right to get her for her birthday. They then checked out the accessories and jewellery section, where Lori was confident that she had found a hair clip that Jordan would absolutely love, but Leni pointed out that when she tried to show Jordan that same hair clip one time, she had explained that her hair clip was quite special to her, and she didn't want to get another one.

After that idea fell through, Lori and Leni started looking through clothes and shoes that Lincoln could get her- shirts, skirts, dresses, jackets, boots, trainers, anything they could get their hands on- but that led to two different issues. The first of which was that, when Leni found a dress that she thought was perfect, she decided she wanted it for herself and went to buy one in her size, making Lori growl. Right after this, however, Lori came to a conclusion that provided the second issue.

"Wait," she told her brother, "maybe this isn't the right idea after all."

"You think so?" He asked.

"Yeah. If you get her a shirt, or a skirt, or a dress or something like that, she might think you don't like her clothes. If it was something that she wanted, then that might be different."

He frowned. "But, she's never said anything like that to me."

Her frown now mirrored his. "Exactly. Sorry, looks I wasted your time, Lincoln."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I really appreciate you helping me."

This made her smile return just a little. "Thanks, twerp."

"Okay, I'm done!" Leni said with a blissful smile as she returned, shopping bag with dress in hand. "Did you find anything?"

"No, and I think we'll be better looking somewhere else," Lori explained, then looked at her brother again. "Why don't you ask Luna if she can help? Maybe you can find a CD she'd like or something."

"It's worth a shot." So, they began to make their way towards the exit, but before they could leave, Lincoln's eye caught something. "Wait a minute… that's it!"

Lori and Leni watched in confusion as their brother rushed off back towards the centre of the store, giving each other a shrug before following after. Though they initially lost him, they found him after half a minute holding a blue scarf with a white star pattern. "What have you found, Linky?" Leni asked, prompting him to hold up the scarf. She placed a hand on it to feel the texture. "Ooh, that's soft!"

"Not to sound negative, because it does look like a nice scarf, but are you certain that she'll be happy with that?" Lori asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lincoln nodded. "When I saw it, I remembered her looking at it when we came to the mall weeks ago."

* * *

_As Lincoln stood next to Jordan in the line for the checkout, they heard a voice call to them. "Hey Jordan! Check this out!" They turned to see Kat approaching the two, with Mollie close behind. "This is perfect for you!"_

_She held out the scarf, which Jordan took and smiled. "Oh, wow, that's beautiful!" She gushed, lifting it up and gently rubbing it against her cheek. "So soft…" When she took hold of the price tag, however, she frowned. "Oh, wait… that'll go over my budget." She looked back and forth between the red shirt that she had found with Lincoln's help, and the scarf Kat had just given her, before handing it back to her raven haired friend. "Thanks, Kat, but I think I'll just get the shirt."_

"_Okay. I'll go put it back, and then we'll meet you and Lincoln at the entrance."_

"_Okay."_

* * *

"I remember she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't get it," he concluded.

Lori and Leni looked at each other, both with the same knowing smile, before looking back at Lincoln. "Then that's what you should get her," they said at the same time.

"You think so?" They both nodded, making him smile. "Alright. I'll go pay for it, then."

"You got enough, Lincoln?" Lori asked.

"Yeah, I brought a little extra just in case, but I don't think I'll need it."

"Alright." So, the three of them went to the checkout, where Lincoln paid for the scarf, with Leni insisting that he use her store discount to help pay for it, before leaving the store. "So, Lincoln, you should probably get her a card as well."

"Yeah, you're right. Plus, I don't know if there's any birthday paper left at the moment, so I might need some of that, or something to put it in."

"You two go and I'll switch with Luna," Leni offered.

"You sure, Leni?" He asked. "I can watch Lily after I've got this if you want."

She shook her head. "Go on. Besides, maybe I can take Lily to swim in the fountain."

Lori rolled her eyes as she told her sister, "you can't let Lily swim in the fountain or you'll get thrown out."

"Oh… ooh! Maybe I can introduce her to Fiona and Miguel!"

Lori gave a small chuckle as Leni walked away with the biggest smile on her face. "That's our Leni, can't stay down for too long."

"Wouldn't have her any other way," Lincoln added. "So, I forget, which way is the card store?"

"It's down this way." He nodded, before following his older sister. "So, Lincoln… that gift seems pretty important."

"Well, yeah. Jordan's my friend, and I want to get her something she'll really like, you know?"

"I know. I just didn't realise you were so close."

"Well, we-" He stopped walking, which Lori quickly noticed so she stopped as well and turned to face him, seeing the irritated look on his face. "Please tell me this isn't you trying to suggest I'm doing this to tell her I like her. I told you girls, we're just friends."

"Lincoln, no, I-" She saw the lack of belief in his eyes, so she just sighed. "Come here a second." She led him to the bench near the escalator, where they sat down. With her hands on her lap, she took a deep breath before speaking. "I know how you feel about me and our sisters when it comes to what we think about your… relationships." He rolled his eyes at her particular wording, but allowed her to continue. "And I didn't really think we were doing anything wrong, but… don't tell Leni I said this, but she kind of made me realise how little we knew about what we were saying."

This came as a surprise to the boy. "Why? What did she say?"

"Well, she asked me whether you were dating Ronnie Anne or Jordan, and I literally didn't know how to answer her." She turned her head so she was looking at him. "For the longest time, we just assumed that you and Ronnie Anne were still together, even after she and Bobby moved to the city. We never even asked you if you were."

"Well, me and Ronnie Anne were never really dating, to be honest." She opened her mouth to speak, but he wasn't finished. "Sure, there were a couple of times we hung out which could have been called dates, but we decided that it was better if we just stayed as friends, and that was long before she moved away."

Lori looked away, feeling a little bit of shame at having assumed the exact opposite without even checking with him. "And yet none of us even thought that that might be true. We just thought-"

"I know," he said, interrupting her again. "You thought we might work together, and yeah, at one time, I might have thought that too, but now we're just friends. Just like me and Jordan are just friends."

"I get that now, and that's what I mean." She looked down at her lap in shame. "I wish we had just sat down and asked you about it, but we never did, and I'm sorry for that."

"Lori… I didn't mean for you to feel that way." He patted his hand on top of hers. "I know that you and the girls just want me to find someone that's good enough for me, and I do appreciate that, but I just want you and the others to try not to involve yourselves so much. Let me figure this stuff for myself."

"I hear you. I can't speak for the others… hell, I can't guarantee I always won't." They both laughed at this, before smiling at each other. "But, I'll try."

"That's all I need." He then leaned forward and hugged her, the big sister returning the hug and enveloping her brother for a good few seconds, before they let go and stood up. "Thanks, Lori."

"No problem, Lincoln. Now, come on, let's go get that card."


	31. Ch 31- Mo Monday Mo Problems

"Okay, kids! Feet on floor!" Rita called from downstairs, hearing ten sets of feet hit the landing floor. "That includes you, Lincoln!"

"I already was!" He called back, catching her by surprise.

"Oh… my bad!"

Lincoln rolled his eyes, then turned to the viewer. "Well, it's Monday morning," he explained, "and that means it's back to school. As you can see," he opened the door, letting the viewer see how his sisters began to sluggishly made their way into the line to the bathroom, "my sisters aren't all that excited about that. To be fair, I'm not excited about going back to school, but I'm looking forward to seeing the others." He glances to the blue gift box on his table, wrapped with yellow ribbon in a bow, that contained the scarf he had bought at the mall. "It's Jordan's birthday, so I'm both eager and nervous to see how she reacts to the gift." He then felt a familiar urge began to build. "Still, that'll have to wait- bathroom first, gift later!"

He power walked out of his bedroom and down the landing, joining the queue to the bathroom, standing behind Lori as she stood behind Luna and Lynn. As they waited for the queue to shorten, Lori turned to her little brother. "So, Lincoln, you ready for school?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Yep," he replied. "My bag is packed, and I didn't have any assignments to do over the break."

She leaned towards her brother so she could whisper. "And, uh, do you have _everything_?"

He nodded. "Yep. It's all ready."

"Good. Don't worry, I know she's going to love it."

A smile graced his lips. "Thanks, Lori." She ruffled his hair, making him laugh. "Quit it, or I won't need the bathroom."

She gave a small chuckle of her own. "Alright, I won't torture you any more." She turned to face the bathroom door again. "God knows it's literally torture enough having to share one bathroom in this house."

He chuckled as well, thinking, 'I hear you.' He ended up being stood there for a little over ten minutes, most of which was because of Lori doing her makeup, before he was eventually able to use the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and a quick two minute shower, he made his way back to his room, where he got changed into his usual clothes, then carefully placed the gift box containing Jordan's present into his bag, before putting it over his shoulder and heading downstairs, where he saw his rocker older sister sat on the couch with Lana, watching cartoons on the TV. Looking at the clock, he realised there was still some time before his other sisters would be ready, which meant breakfast- which, for Monday, meant their father's famous breakfast sandwiches- wouldn't be ready for a bit, so he decided to watch TV with them. "Room for one more?" He asked, getting Luna's attention.

"Sure, bro," she replied, shuffling with Lana, allowing him to sit down with them.

"Thanks." Looking at the screen, he was surprised at what they were watching. "I thought they cancelled _Oi, Artie_?"

"It's a rerun," Lana explained, to which Lincoln simply nodded.

"So, bro," Luna asked, turning her head to look directly at her brother, "heard from two little birds that you found the perfect gift for your friend?"

"Yep." He patted his bag gently. "Got it right here."

"What did you get her?"

He opened his mouth to tell her, but then smirked. "I think I'll keep that to myself. Don't want any of the others to hear."

"Aww, come on, bro," she pulled him toward her by wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "What's the worst that could happen?"

He simply raised an eyebrow and told her, "in this house?" She laughed at his joke, letting him go. "Seriously, though, I'd rather not have to deal with all of that before school."

"Alright, alright, I won't push it. Still, sounds like she's pretty important to you to go to all that trouble. You two getting closer?"

"Well, we have been hanging out a bit more since I started going to dodgeball, and I wouldn't have found it if it wasn't for her. Guess I just…"

"Want her to know that you appreciate her?" He nodded. "That's sweet of you, bro."

She ruffled his hair lightly, causing him to laugh and swat her hand away. "What is it with you girls and touching my hair lately?"

* * *

Eventually, the rest of the girls were ready and made their way downstairs, where Lynn Sr gave all of them one of his breakfast sandwiches to go. After being seen off by their parents, Lori led her sisters into Vanzilla, and she drove them all to school, her first stop being Royal Woods Elementary School. The twins, Lucy, Lisa and Lincoln all got out of the van and began to head towards the front doors of the school.

"Hey, Lincoln!" He heard Lori call, causing him to stop and turn around. "Come over here!"

Curious, he walked over to Vanzilla's driver side window, where Lori was sticking her head out. "What's up?" He asked.

"Just wanted to check you have everything."

He nodded, taking his bag off of his bag, opening the zip and holding it up so she could see in. "I've got the gift, and the card."

She nodded, allowing him to close his bag and put it back on his back. "Alright, Linc. Don't worry, she's gonna love it."

"Thanks, Lori."

"Okay, twerp, now go on before you're late."

He chuckled to himself, then waved and walked away as Vanzilla drove off. Immersing himself in the crowd of less than eager elementary schoolers returning for the first time in over a week, he made his way through the halls of the school, walking up to his locker like he did every school day. After entering his combination and opening his locker, he looked around before pulling the gift out of his bag and putting it in the locker along with the books he didn't need for the morning classes and his packed lunch, then closed the locker door before anyone could see. 'I'll give it to her at lunch,' he thought. 'It'll be easier when there's less people around.' He then turned to walk away, when he felt someone bump him roughly, knocking him into the locker. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

Looking for the perpetrator, he groaned when he saw Markus stood with a snarky grin on his face, wearing his usual white and black football jersey with a red lightning bolt, blue ripped jeans and red sneakers. "Watch where you're going, Loud!" He taunted. "You might hurt yourself!"

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Markus."

He tried to walk away, but Markus put a hand on a nearby locker to stop him. "So, I saw you walking out of the performance centre the other day. Now I know why you quit doing track, and all them other sports you tried- you can't handle an actual sport, so you took up girly pageants instead!"

He laughed like a hyena, causing Lincoln to get slightly angry, his fists balled up. "Not that it matters what you think, but for your information, I was there to support my sister."

"Oh, don't worry, I know all about your sisters! Everyone in this school knows about the Loud sisters!" He leaned forward, his evil grin right in Lincoln's face. "All eleven of them."

"Well, you know what, Markus!" Lincoln snapped, gathering a bit of attention. "At least me and my sisters support each other! I can't imagine there are too many people doing the same for you!"

A small "Ooh" echoed from the crowd at the jab, and for a few seconds, there was silence, until Markus grabbed Lincoln by his collar and pushed him into the locker, his grin gone. "Say that again, Loud… I dare you."

"AHEM!" A voice called out, causing the crowd to disperse. Letting go of Lincoln, Markus turned and saw an old man with balding grey hair and a grey moustache, wearing a navy blue suit jacket over a white button shirt and a blue tie, khaki trousers, a black belt with a metal buckle, and black shoes. He had an unimpressed look on his face as he approached the football player. "Mind explaining yourself, Mr Thompson?"

He simply grinned as he replied, "we're all good here, Principal H. Just a bit of friendly jibing to start the day."

"Hmmph… a likely story. You're lucky that, since it's the first day back, I'm going to let you off with a warning. I suggest you make your way to your class."

"Yes, sir." As Markus walked away, he shot a harsh glare at Lincoln, who simply returned it.

"Alright, the same goes for the rest of you!" the Principal declared. "Get to your classes!" As the students obliged, Huggins approached Lincoln. "Everything okay, Mr Loud?"

"Yes, Principal Huggins," he told the adult.

"Okay. Well, if something like this happens again, let me know. Now, you better head to class as well- the bell will be ringing soon."

"Yes, sir."

As Lincoln began to walk away, he was approached by Clyde. "You okay, Lincoln?" He asked, to which the Loud boy nodded. "What was that about?"

"Just Markus being a jerk, though he brought up my sisters this time."

"Don't let him get to you. He's just jealous you have a family that supports you."

Lincoln scoffed. "That's what I told him."

* * *

After the incident at the start of school, the rest of the morning went as usual, with Lincoln managing to get through his morning classes without issue. Though a part of his mind was still focused on how Jordan was going to react to his gift, he was able to keep his focus on the lessons, taking notes and participating where necessary, even in maths, which was hardly his strong suit.

After the lunch bell rang, Mrs Johnson reminded her class about what the homework task would be, before dismissing the class so they could go for lunch. Lincoln walked up to his locker, opening it so he could trade his books for his lunch and Jordan's present, which he slipped into his backpack. After closing the locker again, he turned to his friends and told them, "hey, I'm gonna be sitting with Jordan and the others. Hope that's okay."

"Sure thing, Lincoln," Stella told the boy.

"You all sure? I don't want to cause any tensions."

"Don't worry, Lincoln, we're over it," Zach explained.

"Yeah, forget about it," Rusty added.

"She's your friend too, and so are they," Liam spoke next. "We can't stop you from hanging with them."

Lincoln smiled. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you after lunch." They all nodded, before walking into the lunch room, the others going to the lunch queue while Lincoln looked for his gymnastics friends. After a few moments, he saw Jordan sat down at an empty table, so he walked over to her. "Hey, Jordan," he greeted, getting her attention as he sat down next to her.

"Hey, Lincoln," she replied.

"The others getting lunch from the cafeteria?" She nodded. "Okay. Happy birthday, by the way."

"Aww, thank you!" The beaming smile on her face made him smile. "Hey, I heard what happened with Markus. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just Markus being a jerk."

"Ugh, tell me about it. Why can't he just leave people alone?"

Lincoln gave a small chuckle. "Because otherwise, he wouldn't have anyone to talk to." This got her laughing, which made her laugh as well.

"Happy birthday, Jordan!" They heard Mollie call, turning to see her and their other friends approaching with their lunch trays, all wishing happy birthday to the school's 'dodgeball queen'.

"Thanks, you guys," she told them as they sat down. "Ooh, that reminds me! My mom got me these to share with you guys!"

She reached into her lunch bag and pulled out six small, pink iced cupcakes with sprinkles, which she handed to each of the six friends sat at the table with her. They all said thank you to her, before Lincoln pointed out, "is there not one for you as well?"

"Oh, no, but I don't mind."

He frowned. "You can have mine, if you like. It doesn't seem right that you shouldn't have one."

"Lincoln, that's sweet of you, but it's okay. Besides, I've got a birthday cake waiting when I get home."

"You sure?" She nodded. "Okay. So, what else do you plan to do today?"

So, while the seven of them ate their lunches together, they talked about stuff like what Jordan's family had got her for her birthday, how boring math class was, and how Mollie got back at Artie for the 'tonic of evil' by pulling his pants down when he went up to write on the board during free period. After most of them had finished eating, Mollie and the others moved their trays to one side, clearing the table.

"Okay, Jordan! Present time!" She declared, prompting Artie, Sadie and Joy to join her in pulling presents out of their bags and putting them on the table.

"Oh my goodness, you guys!" Jordan gushed, putting her hands on her blushing cheeks. "I can't believe you did this!"

"C'mon, Jordan, of course we did!" Joy told her. "You're our friend, and this is what friends do."

"Me first!" Artie spoke up, handing a red paper present to Jordan. She tore through the paper, revealing that he had gotten her a DVD with the latest Digital Jiblets movie. "It's supposed to be really good."

"I love Jiblets movies!" She told him. "Thank you so much!"

"Okay, we're next!" Kat said as Sadie handed a red box to the birthday girl. "We went in together on this."

Sadie nodded, before Jordan lifted the lid off the box and cooed, pulling out a stuffed dog toy, hugging it to her chest. "It's so cute! It looks just like Ajax!"

"Yeah, we sent in a photo, and they made it look as real as possible."

"Oh, it's so adorable! Thank you both so much!"

"Alright, I'm next!" Joy said. She slid the silver paper covered present to her friend. "Hope you like it."

Jordan picked it up, tearing through the side of the paper and pulling out a brown leather handbag, with a golden clasp. "Oh, this is beautiful! Where did you get this?"

"My mom actually won it in a raffle, and I asked her if I could give it to you for a present."

"Well, I love it! Thank you, Joy!"

"Alright! The best is saved for last!" Mollie boasted, her friends rolling her eyes as she handed Jordan a present wrapped in paper with a multicoloured balloon pattern. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Mollie," Jordan said with a chuckle, before opening the paper. Tearing it away, she saw that there was a CD entitled, _Origins_. "Oh my gosh, yes! I forgot that The Imagination Dragons had a new album!"

"Yeah, I spotted it at the mall yesterday, figured you'd like it."

"I love it! Thank you, Mollie."

'Well, at least it won't be a repeat gift,' Lincoln thought, taking a deep breath as Jordan began to put some of the presents away so she could take them to her locker. 'Guess I'm up.' He pulled his bag into his legs, opening the zip and grabbing the present. "I, uh," he spoke, getting their attention, "I know this probably isn't as good as the others, but… I hope you like it."

He placed the box on the table with the card on top, then looked to see that Jordan was completely surprised. Had he looked at them, he would have seen that the others were equally surprised. "You got this for me?" She asked.

"Well, yeah."

Jordan, still surprised, didn't speak for a few seconds, prompting Mollie to nudge her and tell her, "well, go on, open it!"

This seemed to do the trick, making Jordan smile and say "thank you" to Lincoln, before grabbing the card. Opening the envelope, she pulled out the card and giggled at the cover, a dog with sunglasses and a party whistle. "Aww, that's really cute, Linc," she told him, making him smile as she opened the card. "_Dear Jordan, Happy Birthday! L-"_ Her cheeks heated up a little as she looked at the boy. _"Love, Lincoln."_

Lincoln was also blushing now. "Yeah, uh… I wasn't entirely sure how to sign the card, and my sister kind of… insisted that I put it like that. Hope that's okay."

Ignoring the grins on her friends' faces, Jordan looked at him with a smile and said, "thank you, Lincoln." She put the card to one side, then brought the box in front of her. "Now, I wonder what this could be." Lincoln discreetly crossed his finger as she undid the bow and lifted the lid off the box, then gasping as she pulled out the scarf inside. "Oh my goodness!"

"Is that the scarf Kat showed you at the mall a few weeks back?" Mollie asked.

"Yeah," Lincoln replied. "I, uh, I remembered that you liked the look of it, but didn't get it, so I thought you might like it for a present instead."

"Lincoln… I don't know what to say, except… thank you so, so much!" She put the scarf down so she could wrap her arms around the boy in a warm hug, which surprised him at first, before he smiled and returned it. Had he not shut his eyes, he would have seen how the other girls were heartwarmed by the sight, except for Mollie who pretended to be jealous about not having given the best gift. When Jordan eventually released the hug, she took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "Oh, I absolutely love it!" She then turned in her seat, allowing her to face Lincoln. "Does it look good?"

Seeing her with the scarf on, he found himself blushing again and smiling sheepishly. "Actually, Jordan… I think it looks beautiful on you."

Her heart fluttered at the compliment, bringing a blush to her cheeks while their friends gave each other knowing grins. "Thank you, Lincoln."

Just then, they heard the bell ring, signalling that lunchtime was over, and classes would be resuming, so the students got up from their seats and began to walk out of the lunchroom. As he stood up, Lincoln saw Jordan was struggling with the two boxes. "Do you need a hand?" He asked.

"Yeah, I, uh, I could use some help," she admitted.

"Here." He took the lid from the box he had used and placed it under the box itself, then slipped the box containing Kat and Sadie's gift into it, and lifted it all up in one. "I can carry this if you like."

"Really?" When he nodded, she smiled and her cheeks heated up once again. "Thanks, Lincoln."


	32. Ch 32- Puppy Love

Another couple of days had passed since Lincoln gave Jordan her gift, and things had been good for him since. While school hadn't been particularly eventful, he was thankful that Markus had seemingly backed off for the time being, and he hadn't ended up in trouble for any reason. Things were also doing okay outside of school, as while things at home were about the same as usual, Tuesday's gymnastics session had been a lot of fun, and Lynn's extra training sessions had made a bit of an impact- sure, he didn't go from zero to hero or anything like that, but he could feel that he was starting to get the hang of things.

As he walked out of the school building, he saw Vanzilla pull up in front of the school, his younger sisters waiting by the curb. He walked up to the van and prepared to get in, but when Leni got out first, he was confused. "Uh, Leni?"

"Yeah?" She asked, chipper as usual.

"You know, you don't need to get out of the van for me to get in, right?"

"I know, but we're not heading home just yet."

"We're not?"

"Nope!" She turned to Lori. "Okay! See you later, Lori!" So, once the younger Loud sisters were in the van, Lori drove off, leaving just Leni and Lincoln. "Alright, let's go!"

"Wait, Leni, hold on a second!" She stopped walking and turned to face her brother. "What do you mean, we're not going home just yet? Where are we going?"

"I thought I told you, we're heading to my friend's house so we can get some work done on the next fashion show! We're working there because there's no room at our house."

"I remember you saying YOU were, but I don't remember you telling me that."

"Oh… Huh, maybe I didn't." He facepalmed at her sudden realisation. "Oh, well, we have to walk home anyway, so we might as well."

He sighed. "Fine, but next time, can you let me know beforehand?"

"Sure, Linky!" He chuckled, before following her as they began walking. "Thank you so much for agreeing to be my model, by the way."

"Don't mention it. You made my costume for Halloween, I owe you this much. So, whose house are we going to for this?"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

He frowned at her response. "Can't you just tell me?"

"Nope! It's a surprise." She gave a cheeky wink, which made him roll his eyes. "Besides, we're, like, ten minutes away, so it won't take us long to get there."

"That's not really… you know what? Never mind, I'll just see when I get there." She giggled at her brother's resignation from the argument. "So, what exactly am I going to be doing when we get there?"

"Well, first, I need to go over the designs for a bit, just to make sure if there are any changes that need to be made. Then, you'll need to pose for us so we can get some measurements and start to put some of the clothes together. After that, you can relax a bit before we go home."

"Okay, I can do that. Just out of curiosity, how many models do you have for this?"

Leni stopped walking for a moment, holding her hand up and sticking her tongue out as she counted her fingers. "We have about twelve, but just you modelling your size. Why?"

"Just curious."

She gave a sympathetic smile. "Linky, you're gonna be great, trust me. You're so adorable as is, these clothes are just gonna make you look even cuter!"

Lincoln couldn't help but blush at his sister's 'compliment'. "Thanks, I guess. So, uh… how was your day?"

* * *

Leni spent the rest of the journey talking about stuff that had happened at school, including how one of her friends had had, in Leni's words, a complete fashion disaster, though being the sweetheart she was, Leni had rushed in to help her fix it. While they kept walking and talking (though, it was more like Leni talking and Lincoln listening), the boy realised that they were walking along a familiar street, and when a particular house came into view, he stopped. "Leni… you know that's Jordan's house, right?" He asked.

"Uh huh!" She replied. "Yeah, this is where I'm doing work for the fashion show!"

He was going to ask her more, but didn't for two reasons- the first being that he remembered Jordan mentioning her sister Jen on occasion, as well as Leni mentioning her as one of her favourite customers; and the second being that Leni was already walking up to the front door, so he ran over as well to avoid being left behind. After his sister rang the doorbell, they stood there for a moment before the door was opened by a girl Leni's age, wearing a blue over-shirt on top of a white T-shirt, dark blue jeans and red shoes. He could tell straight away that this was Jordan's older sister, as her hair was not only the same colour, but she had it in the same braided style as Jordan did.

"Leni!" She greeted.

"Jen!" Leni greeted back, throwing her arms out wide so they could hug each other. "Hope I'm not late!"

"Not at all, you're right on time! I only just finished getting our designs set up in my room." She let go of the hug, then turned to the boy and knelt down to his height. "Hey, Lincoln, right?"

"Lincy, this is Jen," Leni introduced.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you properly, Jen," he greeted back.

"Well, aren't you a little gentleman?" She pinched his already red cheek. "And an absolute cutie as well!" His cheeks only grew redder as she let him go, rubbing where she had pinched him. "Well, come on in! I've got some snacks set up if you get hungry!"

Jen stepped out of the way so Leni and Lincoln could step inside, closing the door after them. As they went into the living room, Lincoln saw Jordan sat on the couch, who looked over at him and became surprised. "Lincoln?" She asked.

"Hey, Jordan," he replied with a smile.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Linky's my model!" Leni gleefully told the younger girl, though it did little to clear up her confusion, so Jen spoke up.

"Me and Leni are working together for the next charity fashion show, and Lincoln's agreed to be one of the models."

"Oh, right!" Jordan gasped, turning her attention back to the white haired boy, whose cheeks were starting to blush again. "I forgot you said you were modelling for her."

"I don't usually," he explained. "I just do it for Leni on occasion."

"Well, I think he's gonna be great!" Jen assured, walking behind the boy and grabbing his shoulders. "All the patrons are going to think you look absolutely adorable!" Lincoln was surprised his cheeks weren't permanently red with how much he was blushing. Even Jordan couldn't help but try and hold back a giggle at his embarrassment. "Don't worry, Lincoln. With me and Leni showing you how it's done, you'll be perfect for the catwalk."

"I hope so…"

"I think you'll be good at it," Jordan offered. "Just think of it like pageanting."

It was Jen's turn to be surprised. "You've done pageanting?"

"Not exactly," he told her. "My sister Lola enters a lot of child pageants, and I help her out by being her coach. I even coached Lana for a pageant once."

"Well, you should be a natural at this, then!" Jen clapped her hands together.

"So, where should we start?" Leni asked.

"Well, mom's at a meeting, and dad's in the study, so we can work either down here or in my room."

"I think we should work down here. The lighting will, like, totes make it easier."

"You're so right!" She turned to Jordan. "You okay with that, sis?"

"Sure. I can head to my room if you need me to."

"Don't be silly, there's plenty of room here. You'll be fine." She turned to Leni. "We just need to head upstairs, make sure everything is ready for us to start crafting, and bring it down here."

"Okay!" Leni looked over at her brother. "Will you be okay down here for a bit, Linky?"

"Sure, I'll be fine. Don't worry." She smiled, then walked up to her brother and gave him a hug, before following her friend upstairs, leaving the two sixth graders alone. "So, uh…"

"You okay?" Jordan asked, to which he nodded. "Sorry if Jen was a bit much. She means well."

He smiled. "Don't worry, I know what you mean. My sisters are all the same- well… I wouldn't say the same, exactly, but they do mean well."

"I can imagine, since you're their only brother, that they care a lot about you."

"For better or for worse." She found his joke amusing, giving a little giggle in response. "So, I, uh… I don't really know what to do right now."

"Well, I was gonna watch some TV for a bit. Want to join me?"

"Sure." He then walked over to the couch, but just as he was about to sit down, he heard a growl. Now on edge, he looked to his left and noticed a small, white furred dog with black spots, wearing a red bandana, stood with flared teeth as it stared at the white haired boy. Seeing the dog reminded Lincoln of when it had torn his clothes at Jordan's pool party, meaning he had to walk back to Liam's family's farm in his underwear, and became worried that it was going to happen again. "Uh oh… n-nice doggy…"

He started to slowly back away, which only made the dog growl louder. Just as Lincoln thought the dog was going to attack, he saw Jordan step in front of him, with what he could only assume was a stern expression on her face. "Ajax! Sit!" The dog simply growled more, but she stood her ground. "I said, SIT!" This time, the dog stopped growling and obeyed its owner's command, sitting down whilst sticking its nose up. "Good boy." She turned to Lincoln and asked, "you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for the save."

"Sorry about Ajax. He's usually such a sweetie." She then walked up to her dog and kneeled down to scratch behind his ear, saying, "who's a good boy?" The dog's tail began wagging as he panted happily. "See? He's not so scary. Come say hi."

"I, uh… I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh, don't be silly. He'll open up to you, I swear, just give it a chance." Seeing how insistent she was, he hesitantly approached the dog while it was distracted. When he kneeled down next to her, Ajax saw him again and began to growl again. "Hold your hand out flat." Lincoln obeyed, laying his palm in front of the dog, which eventually got it to stop growling. A few seconds of silence passed before Ajax began to move its nose towards the hand. "Just stay still and let him get your scent." The canine's nose began to sniff at the Loud boy's hand, Lincoln getting nervous the longer it went on. "It's okay, Ajax. He's a friend."

The dog, though still cautious, eventually decided to trust the boy, giving a small lick to the boy's fingers. "Hey!" Lincoln said out of surprise.

"Looks like he likes you!" Jordan happily told him.

"That's a relief." Lincoln then moved his hand so he could scratch behind the spotted dog's ear, getting the same reaction that Jordan did when she did the same thing. "Good boy, Ajax…"

"See? There's nothing to be afraid of. Why were you so cautious?"

"Well…" His cheeks turned red again as he thought about it. "I… it doesn't matter, it's stupid."

"Aww, come on, Lincoln! I thought we were friends! I promise, I won't laugh!"

"That's not what I'm worried about, Jordan. It's…" When he looked at Jordan, he could see that she really wanted to know, and living with his sisters had taught him that she wasn't going to just let it go, so he sighed. "Do you remember… when you had that pool party?"

"Which one?" When he didn't answer, however, she figured it out for herself, and though not as much as Lincoln's, her cheeks were quite pink at the thought of his… predicament. "Oh, right…"

"Well, Ajax mustn't have liked me being like… that, so he kind of… tore my clothes up."

"Geez… I'm sorry, Lincoln. I never even realised."

He shook his head. "Don't be. It's water under the bridge now." He then turned his attention back to the dog. "Isn't that right, boy?" Ajax gave a bark of confirmation, making both kids chuckle. "So, yeah. Don't worry about it."

"You sure?" He nodded. "Okay." She looked for a second at the clock on the wall behind the sofa. "Oh! I almost forgot."

She stood up and grabbed the remote off the cabinet, then used it to turn on the TV. "What are you watching?" Lincoln asked as she started searching the channels.

"One of my favourite shows. Give me a second…" She flicked through the channels, until she put on a show that Lincoln was quite familiar with.

"You watch Dream Boat too?"

"Uh Huh! I love it! I'm guessing your sisters like it too."

"Are you kidding? Me and my whole family love it!"

"Well, by all means, take a seat!" The two then walked over to the couch and sat down, accidentally brushing shoulders before Jordan nervously shuffled away. "S-Sorry…"

"I-it's okay," he replied, equally nervous as his cheeks lit up yet again. After a few seconds, he saw Ajax walk over and leap up onto his lap, getting comfortable so he too could watch the TV. "Hey, Jordan? Are you okay with Ajax being on the sofa?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine. My parents don't really mind."

He gave a small chuckle. "Fair enough. If it were my parents, they'd probably go a bit mad."

She smirked. "That's because if your dog sat on the sofa, there wouldn't be any room for the rest of you and your ten sisters."

He couldn't help but laugh at her joke. "True." He then began stroking the dog's fur, making him forget about the momentary embarrassment as they watched the latest episode of the dating show.


	33. Ch 33- Not A Model Model

**(A/N: Hey, everyone! Couple of things I just want to say real quick. First of all, hope you guys have enjoyed my Jordancoln week stuff so far. When I saw it appear on Javi's DA page, I figured, why not, you know?**

**Secondly, you guys have only gone and done it again. Not only has this story passed 100 favourites, but this story has reached a number I never thought possible- Lincoln Gets Limber has surpassed… FIFTY THOUSAND VIEWS! Those two are amazing on their own, but add to that the fact that it's had over 350 reviews, and that I've received my two hundredth follower, and I am so far over the moon, I'm on Mars! Dumb analogy, I know, but it just puts into perspective how happy this makes me, and it's all down to you guys. If not for all the support you guys give, from your faves, follows and reviews to just giving my work a chance and reading it, you inspire me to put out the best work I can, so from the bottom of my heart and soul… **

**Thank you, and enjoy!)**

While the two elementary schoolers were sat downstairs watching TV, their older sisters were busy in Jen's bedroom, looking over their designs, checking they had the right materials and deciding what order to exhibit them. "So, I totes think that we should go with this one first," Leni suggested, pointing at a drawing of a model with an asymmetrical sweater. "It'll catch the eyes of the audience, but won't cause our catalogue to peak too early."

"You're so right," Jen replied. "That's perfect. After that, we should totally go with the Henley with the pencil skirt."

"Ooh! I think I have the perfect jacket to go with that!" The two girls gave an excited titter, before Leni asked, "so, should we go down and get to work?"

"Not just yet." She walked over to the door and poked her head out, making sure that the younger kids weren't around, before returning to Leni with a slightly mischievous face. "Okay, it's just you and me, so spill- how close do you think Jordan and Lincoln are?"

"Linky?"

"Yeah! Come on, they have to like each other, don't they?"

"Well, Linky keeps saying that they're just friends, and that he doesn't want to ruin that."

"… I won't lie, that's actually really sweet." She sat down on her bed, planting her palms down on her lap. "But, seriously! Surely, he must like her! Didn't you see the scarf he got for her?"

Leni's smile perked up as her eyes glistened slightly. "I know! Me and Lori took him to Reininger's to try and find something for her, but we weren't able to find anything until Linky found the scarf, and said that he remembered her looking at it."

Jen's grin just grew. "You see? It sounds like she means a lot to him, and just between you and me, I'm pretty confident that Jordan likes him in that way. For one thing, she's been talking a lot more about him for the past few weeks, like how they sat together at lunch, and how she invited him to the mall. She even gave him her number."

"She did?!" Jen nodded, making Leni "Aww".

"I know, right? Not to mention, she absolutely loves the scarf she got him, and she's pretty much made it a part of her ensemble since."

"That's really sweet… but, Lincoln kept saying that he just wants to be friends with Jordan. Has Jordan said she wants to go out with Linky?"

"No, though I don't think Jordan would tell me if she did."

Leni giggled at this, saying, "Yeah. Linky hates when he try and get involved in his romantic life, so I would imagine Jordan would be the same. Still, I kind of think we should let Linky and Jordan figure things for themselves."

"Yeah, you're right. It wouldn't be fair if we interfered." A thought came to her head that made her giggle as well. "Still, wouldn't it be pretty great if he did ask her out?" They both let out a small squeal at the possibility, before Jen stood up and said, "Alright, we better get back to work. I'll grab the designs, you grab the fabrics, and I'll come back for the sewing equipment."

"You got it!" Jen grabbed the design board while Leni grabbed the fabrics, and they left the bedroom, heading downstairs where the two younger kids were sat on the couch, watching TV while munching on some of the snacks Jen had prepared. "Hey, guys!" Leni greeted, getting them to turn their heads and smile at her. "What are you watching?"

"Dream Boat," Jordan replied. "Though, it's a rerun."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I borrow your friend, sis," Jen told her. "We need to get started on crafting, which means we need our model."

His cheeks heating up, Lincoln sighed. "Might as well get it over with, I guess," he muttered, making the girl next to him stifle a laugh while he stood up. "So, where do you want me to stand?"

"One second, kid." She kneeled down behind the couch, reaching her hand under and pulling out a small pedestal which she slid away so there was enough space. "Hop on here, and we'll get started."

As much as he didn't want to do this, he knew that this was what he had agreed to when he asked Leni to make his costume, so he stepped onto the pedestal without question. "Alright. What now?"

"Well, first, we need to get your measurements," Leni explained. "That way, we can get the right lengths for your outfit."

"Do you need me stood any particular way?"

"Just arms out wide, and legs slightly spread." Lincoln obliged, his body moving to match her request. "Okay. Now, keep still and we'll be done in no time, I promise." He rolled his eyes, but didn't complain. "Just need to go grab the tape measure."

As the two older girls walked away, Lincoln looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Seriously?! You couldn't have had me make this pose AFTER you got that?!"

"Hold that pose, Lincoln! Don't you dare move!" Jen shouted back, ignoring his plight. Lincoln threw his head back and groaned, before becoming aware of the near hysterical laughter of the girl sat on the couch, making him look unamused.

"Is that for something happening on the TV, or because of me?"

"I-I'm sorry," Jordan struggled to get out, a couple of tears coming out of her eyes as she turned around on the couch. "I'm not- laughing at you, I-I swear. I just ca-can't believe that they made you do that."

He merely rolled his eyes and said, "easy for you to say, you're not the one stood here feeling like an idiot."

She brought her laughter to a halt and wiped away her tears. "You're right, I'm sorry. But, come on, it's kind of funny."

"Like I say, easy for you to say. But, yeah, Leni… does have her forgetful moments, I guess. Lord knows she's the sweetest person there is, though."

"You're right there. Whenever I go to Reininger's, I try to always get Leni to handle my checkout, because she's always really nice about it, and she knows straight away if an outfit will work for me."

"Yeah. I can see her really making it as a designer some day."

She gave him a smile. "You know, you're really supportive of your sisters, aren't you? It's quite admirable, to be honest. I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be having ten sisters, and that's without even mentioning that you're the only boy."

He gave a scoff and told her, "you don't know the half of it." She giggled again at this, before he continued to say, "still, as much as it can be difficult keeping up with everything they do and helping them out with stuff, I always say that no matter what, I wouldn't trade it for the world."

To his surprise, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, which he soon figured out belonged to Leni. "Aww, Linky!" She gushed, nuzzling her cheek against his head. "And we wouldn't trade such an amazing brother like you for anything!"

His heart swelled a bit, prompting him to return his sister's hug. "Thanks, Leni."

"I mean it. An amazing brother like you would have to be worth, like, so much money, but you could never be worth enough for us to give you up."

Jordan, slightly confused by the statement, furrowed her brow. "Uh, Leni-"

"Just ignore it, sis," Jen told the girl, placing her sewing kit down on the coffee table while the two Loud siblings released their hug. "Alright, NOW we can measure you." Resuming his pose from before, Jen took the tape measure from round her neck and began to measure his dimensions, starting with his torso height, then his waist and hips measurements. When she started measuring his arms, however, she noticed that he shook a little. "You okay there, squirmy?"

"Uh huh," he replied, noticeably straining to keep a straight face, which made the older Rosato girl smirk.

"You wouldn't happen to be… ticklish, would you?"

He shook his head in response, but Leni obliviously ratted him out by saying, "oh, yeah. Linky can be so cute when we tickle him."

"Leni…" he complained, his cheeks flushing as both Jen and Jordan stifled laughter at this.

"Well, as much fun as that sounds," Jen joked, "I might not be able to stop if I started, so we'd be unable to get anything done. I'll try not to tickle you, so just try not to move."

"Okay." She resumed her measurements, giving the boy a teasing tickle every so often just to see him squirm, but didn't push it too much lest he decide he had had enough. It didn't take long for her to finish measuring. "Okay, Lincoln. We've got the measurements, now we just need to pick which design for you to model."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already picked that for me."

"Nope!" Leni told the white haired Loud. "We have all the designs ready, and we've picked most of the models specifically for the outfits, but I wanted you to pick which outfit you'd model."

"We've got two in mind for you, Lincoln," Jen explained pointing at the design board. "We're thinking either the western styled epaulet shirt with the combat jeans and boots, or the tunic shirt with leggings and the oxfords. What do you think?"

"Am I allowed to step down and look?" He asked, to which Jen rolled her eyes before nodding. Approaching the board, he looked back and forth between the two designs, but all he could do was shrug and say, "I don't really have a preference."

Jen's eyes went half lidded, a "seriously" escaping her lips, before a mischievous idea came to her mind. "In that case…" Lincoln watched curiously as she walked over to the couch and tapped her little sister on the shoulder. "Maybe you can pick for him, Jordan!"

Both Lincoln and Jordan blushed, the girl shooing her dog off her lap so she could stand up. "W-why me?" She asked. "Surely you two would know better. They are YOUR designs."

"You've got really good fashion sense, sis."

"She's, like, so right!" Leni added. "I've never seen you pick out anything from the store that wouldn't work for you!"

While this only made her blush a bit more, she sighed and told them, "alright." She walked around her couch and stood next to Lincoln, looking at the two designs Jen had picked out. She would occasionally look to Lincoln to try and picture him in the outfits, which made her cheeks heat up a little bit more, before she reached a decision. "I think he should wear the Western shirt."

While Jen simply looked smug, Leni looked at the design again, then back at the blushing boy. "You are so right, Jordan!" She said in approval. "That would be perfect for Linky to wear!"

"Looks like we have a winner," Jen stated, not unaware of the glare her sister was giving her. "Thanks, Jordan." The smaller girl stuck her tongue out, then returned to the couch. "Alright, we've got two colour combinations we were thinking of for that outfit- a red shirt with blue jeans and brown boots, or a light blue shirt with grey jeans and black boots, and a black belt for each." She tapped her finger against her cheek as she tried to decide between the two. "Might need you to try something on so we can decide."

"Okay. Is there somewhere I can get changed?" He looked at Jen, waiting for her to respond, but she didn't. He was wondering if she was going to say something, but then he realised what she meant, and his face lit pure red. "… y-you… you want me to… ch-change here?"

"Sure, why not?" She crossed her arms, a smirk pretty much painted on her face by this point. "Come on, we're all friends here."

His eyes silently glanced over to the girl on the couch, unable to see that her face was nearly as red as his was. When he looked back at his sister, he gave her an almost pleading look. "Come on, Linky, you'll be fine!" She insisted, either ignorant to his plight or secretly revelling in it- the boy couldn't tell, though he was more convinced it was the former. "Jen's right, we're all friends here."

"Yeah, and I'd like it to stay that way!" He insisted, prompting Jen to stifle a snigger, which didn't help matters. "Do I really have to change here?"

"Well, it'll be a lot quicker that way."

"… alright, just… don't look, okay?"

With a roll of her eyes, Jen turned around. As Lincoln began to take his shirt off, she peaked over at the couch, where she saw Jordan with her hands over her eyes, even though she wasn't even looking at the boy, which only made Jen's earlier assumptions seem more feasible. "You ready yet?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied, prompting her to turn around and see that he was now stood without a shirt, his arms crossed to cover his chest.

"Alright, I'll let you try the red fabric first," she told him, picking up the red fabric and holding it against him. "I don't know why you were so shy. You're not in bad shape." Of course, his cheeks only heated up.

"That'll be thanks to your dodgeball sessions, Linky," Leni blurted out. In that moment, any colour in his face drained away, not even needing to question the confusion now on Jen's face.

"Dodgeball?"

"Yeah, Linky does dodgeball with Jordan now!"

"Uh, yeah!" Jordan responded, not allowing Jen the chance to. "He does, and he's getting the hang of it too!" When Jen turned her attention to her, she acted fast. "Ooh, it's, uh, getting a bit warm in here. Hey, Jen, why don't we go grab something for us all to drink?"

Before her older sister could ask, Jordan grabbed her arm and dragged her into the kitchen, and whilst Jordan opened the fridge to pull out some sodas, Jen crossed her arms. "What's going on?" She asked suspiciously, eyebrow raised. "I know Leni's not the smartest girl in class, but-"

"Alright, just… just hear me out, okay?" Jordan replied, placing the sodas on the counter before closing the fridge door. She ensured that, when she spoke again, her voice was as low as possible. "So, Lincoln told me that he hasn't told his sisters yet that he does gymnastics, because he's worried about how they'll react."

"That doesn't-" Jordan shushed her, making the older girl roll her eyes before speaking more quietly. "That doesn't make any sense. Surely his sister's wouldn't care what he's doing if it makes him happy, right?"

"I know, and I don't fully get it either, but it seems pretty important to him, so I agreed not to tell anyone in case any of them found out. So, please, don't tell her."

"You're asking me to lie to my best friend?" Jordan looked away shyly, feeling a bit guilty for asking, though rather than be angry, Jen just smiled and said, "seems Lincoln's pretty important to you. You sure he's just a friend?"

"Yes," Jordan stressed through gritted teeth, her cheeks heating up again.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you." She then placed her hand on her sister's shoulder and said, "don't worry. I'll let Lincoln tell her when he's ready to."

Smiling as well, Jordan gave her big sister a hug. "Thanks, Jen."

"Don't thank me yet." Curious, Jordan looked up as she let go of the hug, seeing Jen grab two of the sodas and head back to the living room. Grabbing the other sodas, Jordan followed her, blushing when she saw that Lincoln was still shirtless. "Sorry about that, had to move some stuff around in the fridge to reach them."

"No worries," Leni replied as Jen handed her a soda. Meanwhile, Jordan shyly approached Lincoln, holding a soda out to the equally timid boy.

"H-here you go," she told him.

"Th-thanks," he replied, accepting the drink then turning to Jen. "Can I put my shirt back on?"

"Go on, then," Jen teased, while the boy hurriedly grabbed his shirt from the couch and put it back on. "So, Leni, if Lincoln's going to wear the western shirt ensemble, who should we get to wear the tunic shirt?"

"Hmm… is there anyone we have who doesn't currently have an outfit for the show?" She asked.

"Nope. Now that I think about it, we're actually a model short. Shame, really… I liked that design."

"Me too. Wish we could just find another model."

"It would make things easier…" She teasingly tapped her finger against her chin, turning her head so her gaze was at her younger sister. It only took a couple of seconds for Jordan to realise where she was going with this. "What do you think, sis?"

"No way!" She refuted immediately, waving her hands in front of her. "I'm not doing it!"

"Aww, come on, sis! You'd be helping us out a lot, and you'd look great in it!"

"Please, Jordan?" Leni begged, cupping her hands together.

"But I don't know anything about modelling!"

"We'll help you! Plus, Linky knows so much from coaching Lola, I'm sure he'll help you as well."

"And I'm sure he'd love to have his friend there," Jen added, knowing full well that Jordan was fuming on the inside. "Isn't that right, Lincoln?"

He didn't think his face could get any redder as he felt all three pairs of eyes on him again. In an attempt to make his embarrassment less apparent, he held the soda can up in front of his mouth as he answered, "… I wouldn't mind." He could see that Jordan's cheeks were also heating up, so he quickly added, "it's up to you, though. I don't want to force you."

Jordan felt a little relieved at that, but looking back at Jen, she could tell from her grin that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, so she huffed and pouted. "I hate you right now. Fine, I'll do it."

Leni squealed happily and lifted Jordan up in a tight hug. "Thank you, Jordan! I promise, we're going to make you look so cute!"

"Sure, just… make sure… I can breathe."

Realising that she was holding her too tightly, Leni put Jordan down and let go, allowing her to regain her breathing. "Sorry," she meekly apologised, to which Jordan waved it off. Just then, a car horn outside caught their attention. "Oh, that must be Lori! Guess we should go." She turned to Jen and asked, "should I take the stuff for Linky's outfit so I can get some work done at my place?"

"Sure, and I'll get started on Jordan's," Jen replied.

While the two high schoolers chatted and made their goodbyes, Lincoln approached Jordan and rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh… see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you at school." He nodded, then followed his sister to the front door, waiting for them to close it on the way out before sighing. "Well, that was awkward." She turned to her sister with an irritated look on her face. "Did you have to embarrass me like that?"

"Come on, Jordan, you know I was just playing," she replied. "Besides, it's pretty clear you like him."

"Yeah, as a friend! Geez, I'm glad I only have ONE sister- I can only imagine how Lincoln deals with ten sisters acting like this."

Jen chuckled to herself, before saying, "in all seriousness, thanks for agreeing to model. You're really helping us out."

"Yeah, well, I guess I kind of owe you one, since you didn't rat Lincoln out. Anyway, I'm gonna try get some homework down before dinner."

"I'll come get you when it's ready," she replied as her younger sister walked away, and once she was out of sight, a smirk appeared on her face. 'Who are you trying to convince, sis… me or you?'


	34. Ch 34- Dodging The Question

**(A/N: Hey, guys. I want to talk about the future of this fic real quick. Now, I've been writing this as I go, and this story has changed vastly from what I had originally envisioned. There are many things about this story that have turned out differently than my original plan, but the most noticeable change that I've noticed is just how long this story has become! Had you told me when I started this fic that, by chapter thirty, it wouldn't even be halfway through, I might have laughed. Now, while I know what certain events will be and what the broader timeline looks like, I have no clue how many chapters this will take- at this moment in time, I know what the next eighteen chapters are. Other than that, however, your guess is as good as mine, so thank you all for sticking with this as long as you have. If it weren't for the fact that you guys read my work, I might have packed it in.**

**Also, just as a heads up, I return to university for my third year in a couple of weeks, and since this is the most important year for me, that will likely take up a fair bit of my time. I'll do my best to keep uploading at the same rate, but I will need to prioritise my studies.**

**Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

The next morning, Jordan had woken up, gotten dressed and ready and ate breakfast with her family as usual, before beginning to walk to school. Along the way, she met up with Mollie, Sadie and Kat, before they arrived at Joy's house, where they waited for their friend. Eventually, they saw the front door open and Joy stepped out, shrugging her bag strap over her shoulder while holding a slice of toast between her teeth. Shutting the door, she grabbed hold of the toast and took a bite out of it, then walked over to catch up with her friends. "Sorry I'm late," she said once her mouth was empty, "I overslept."

"That's fine, Kat did too," Mollie replied, prompting the raven haired girl to slap her on the shoulder.

"Nothing new there, then."

Kat merely scoffed and retorted by saying, "oh, yeah, because you're a picture of punctuality!"

Joy rolled her eyes as she gulped down another bite of her toast, the five of them resuming their walk towards school. "So, what's new with you girls?"

"Well, Jordan's taken up a new hobby," Sadie teased, the girl in yellow groaning at the 'joke'.

"I told you," she argued, "I don't want to do this, but I don't really have much choice." Looking at Joy's confused face, Jordan sighed before she explained, "my sister Jen is making me model for her stupid fashion show next Saturday."

"What's so bad about that?" Joy asked. "I mean, your sister's good at fashion, right? What, are you afraid she's gonna make something you won't look good in?"

"No, of course not. I'm worried I'm gonna look like an idiot up there. What do I know about modelling?"

"Just think of it like you're walking on the balance beam," Mollie suggested. "A really wide balance beam where you don't really have to balance."

Her friends giggled at the joke, while Jordan offered a sarcastic "har, har" to her friend, but did smile. "I guess you're right. Plus, Lincoln said he'd help me."

"What does the girl guru know about modelling?"

"First of all, are you really still mad at him about that?"

The deadpan expression Joy gave her said it all, but she still reminded her friend, "he convinced Papa Wheelie to put a frog on my head."

"I'd take that over a Dutch Oven any day." She shuddered a bit at the memory. "I had to bring in an air freshener to get the smell out of my locker." Realising she was getting off track, she shook her head. "Anyway, Lincoln's sister got him to agree to model for her as well, and he's coached his little sister for pageants before, so he said he might be able to help show me what to do. Still, I doubt he wants to do this anymore than I do, so that'll be fun." She gave a small chuckle at the thought of it, but when she didn't hear anyone respond, a quick glance at her friends saw them giving each other knowing glances. "What?"

Mollie, grinning from ear to ear, decided to be the one to break the silence. "You sure seem to be hanging out with Lincoln a lot more now. First inviting him to gymnastics, then to sit with us at lunch, then for the trip to the mall and the Halloween party. Now the two of you are gonna be modelling together."

"Woah, woah, hold on a second. We are not modelling together, we're modelling separately at the same show."

"Sounds the same to me," Kat joked, making the rest of Jordan's friends laugh as well. "But, yeah, you two are hanging out a lot more than we figured you would when you told us that Lincoln was gonna join us at gymnastics. Is there… something else going on there?"

Jordan, being someone who was actually quite smart for age, didn't need even a second to figure out what she was getting at. "Please tell me you aren't suggesting I'm crushing on Lincoln."

"… well…"

"Oh my god, really?! You're as bad as my sister!"

"Come on, Jordan, it's not as if you're denying it," Sadie pointed out. "For one thing, you're the one who defends him whenever Markus tries to bother him."

"Yeah, what's his problem, anyway?" Joy asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," Jordan admitted, giving a small shake of her head. "Something to do with football, I think? But, yeah, I stick up for Lincoln. So what? Markus is a jerk."

"Yeah, but that's not the only thing that makes us think you might like Lincoln more than a friend," Mollie spoke up. "For one thing, you defended him when Joy called him Girl Guru a second ago, and then there's this." She pointed at the scarf around her best friend's neck. "You've worn that every day since he got you it for your birthday."

"Well, it is autumn."

"Jordan, it's not exactly cold at the moment. In fact, the weather guy's been saying it might get hotter in a couple of weeks- hardly scarf weather, is it?"

She merely rolled her eyes at this. "Whatever, I like the scarf! It goes with my outfit! And yes, it was sweet of him to get it for me, and that he remembered me looking at it, but that doesn't mean I like him like that."

"And that right there is the third reason why I think you're lying to us." Mollie even went as far as to hold up three fingers to put exclamation to her point. "Why else would you be getting so defensive right now, unless you do have a crush on him?"

"I'm not…" Letting out a frustrated breath through her nose, she looked at her friends once more. "Look, girls. I appreciate what you're trying to say, but me and Lincoln…"

* * *

"… we're just friends!" Lincoln refuted, having unknowingly had the same conversation as the girls as he walked to school with Clyde, Rusty, Zach and Liam. "Why are you guys saying that I like her all of a sudden? I have to deal with this from my sisters, I don't need to deal with it from you guys as well."

"Linc, we ain't trying to make you uncomfortable," Liam told his friend. "We just thought, since you two have been hanging out so much, that maybe you did like her."

"We also thought that Stella hanging out with us meant that she liked us, and look how that turned out." The boys' faces turned sour as they recalled what had happened. "Guys, I know you mean well, but you've got it all wrong."

"Hey, guys!" They heard a familiar voice call to them, and looked to see Stella crossing the road to catch up to them. "Whoa, you guys okay? You look like someone told you your puppy died."

"Yeah, we're fine," Lincoln explained. "Just these guys are trying to say I like Jordan because I've been hanging out with her more."

Her face fell. "Seriously? This again? I thought you guys learned after we started hanging out, that's not how things work!"

"Well, it isn't JUST that," Zach pointed out. "She seemed pretty happy with the scarf you got her- she's worn it every day since you got it for her."

"Plus, after the Halloween party, you've stopped calling her 'Girl' Jordan," Clyde added.

"That was because she asked me to stop calling her that," Lincoln explained, "and I agreed to because she's my _friend_. And I've been hanging out with Jordan more since I started going to gymnastics, sure, but it's not like we've been dating. I've just been hanging out with her and the others."

"But what about the fashion show?"

Stella blinked, surprised by the statement Rusty made. "Wait, fashion show?"

Lincoln sighed, rubbing the back of his arm. "Yeah, my sister Leni asked me to model for her next fashion show, and Jordan's modelling for her sister as well. Since Leni and Jordan's sister are working together for it, I had to go to Jordan's house after school so I could get measured." His cheeks heated up as he remembered how embarrassed he felt the day before. "Still, I'm only doing it because Leni's my sister, and I agreed to after she said she would make my Halloween costume for me."

"Well, that sounds sweet of you," Stella offered. "Shows how much you care about your sister." She then looked at the other guys and said, "still, just because he's hanging out with a girl doesn't mean that he likes her, and same goes for her. If he says they're just friends, then just leave it."

Lincoln gave a smile to the girl. "Thanks, Stella." After another few minutes of walking, they eventually reached the school, joining the crowd of students entering the building so they could reach their lockers. Lincoln opened his locker and threw his gym bag inside. "I still can't believe we have to do gym today."

"Dang it!" Zach complained. "I knew I forgot something this morning."

"Why are we even doing gym today, anyway?" Rusty asked.

"They're holding a mathletics competition in the gymnasium tomorrow," Clyde explained. "That's why."

"Right. I forgot you were involved in that." Clyde smiled proudly in response. "Still, couldn't they give us a free period instead, or any class other than gym?"

"Relax, Rusty, it won't kill you," Stella chastised. "It's just happening a day earlier than usual."

Lincoln chuckled, thinking, 'I wouldn't be surprised if it did, to be fair. Still, who am I to talk? I've only been doing gymnastics for about a month, and I'd probably be complaining more if I didn't.' As he shut his locker door, he turned around and saw Jordan down the hallway, talking with her friends, when he remembered something. "Hey, guys, I'm gonna talk to Jordan for a moment. I forgot to ask her something yesterday."

"Okay!" Stella replied as he walked away.

While he approached the girl, Jordan was tapped on the shoulder by Kat, who then pointed at the white haired boy, directing her attention to him. "Oh, hey, Lincoln!" She greeted.

"Hey, Jordan."

"What's up?"

"Can I talk to you quickly?"

Curious, she nodded before turning to her friends. "I'll catch you in class." They nodded back to her and walked away, allowing the two to be relatively alone in the hall. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I just remembered, because Lori picked us up, I never got to thank you yesterday. You know, for convincing Jen to not rat me out to Leni."

She smiled at the boy. "It's okay, Lincoln. You don't need to thank me for that."

"Yes, I do. For one thing, I kind of got the feeling that was why you agreed to model for her."

A sigh escaped from her lips, the girl's shoulders drooping a bit. "Yeah, she never actually said that was why she wanted me to, but I kind of figured that was why."

"So, why did you?"

Blinking, she gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" He raised his hand, using it to scratch the back of his head. "I want you to be honest with me- the fact that I haven't told my sisters the truth yet. Do you think it's stupid?"

"Oh… that." She grabbed her wrist and looked to the side for a moment, before giving him a sincere look. "I'll be honest, Lincoln. I don't get it as much as you do. If it was me, I'd want my sister to know that I'm proud of doing gymnastics."

He looked down in shame. "I thought so."

"Wait a minute, Lincoln." He looked back up, making her feel a little bit guilty when she saw that his eyes looked a little bit sad. "I don't get why you haven't told them, but… at the same time, I also don't get what it's like to have ten sisters, especially ten sisters that are as different from each other as yours are." He couldn't help but give a small laugh at that, knowing full well that she was right. "What I'm trying to say, Lincoln, is I don't judge you for not telling them, and if I can, I'll try and help you keep it secret until you're ready to tell them."

"Really?" She nodded, and saw that a smile grew on his face. "You don't have to do that… but I appreciate you trying to help all the same."

"No problem. So, since you asked me something, can I ask you something?" He nodded. "When do you think you're going to tell your sisters the truth?"

He felt his blood run slightly cold, instinctively looking over his shoulders to make sure that his younger sisters weren't in sight, before looking back at his friend. "Honestly, I'm still figuring that part out. I know that I can't just tell them all at once, because that would just end up being a disaster. It's about figuring out who to tell when."

"I see…" The two were interrupted by the bell ringing, signifying that it was time for class. "Lincoln… I don't know your sisters as well as you do, so… all I can say is, don't leave it too long, you know? It'll only get worse the longer you leave it."

"Yeah… I know, you're right." He gave her a smile. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now, come on, class is starting."


	35. Ch 35- Dodging Something Else

After they finished talking in the hallway, they both joined their classmates, sitting in their respective seats while waiting for Mrs Johnson to arrive. Once the teacher had arrived, she checked the attendance, reminded the class about how the gym hall would be unavailable the next day so their lessons had switched, then held English class, before sending them to gym. Heading into the changing room with his friends, Lincoln places his gym bag on a hook and began to get changed, when Rusty leaned over to the white haired boy and asked, "what were you talking to Girl Jordan about?"

Lincoln rolled his eyes as he responded. "It's not important, Rusty, just stuff related to my sister's fashion show."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Zach whispered to the taller boy, who stifled a snigger, whereas Lincoln just gave an unimpressed look at the boys.

"I thought we were done with this. I told you, she's just a friend, that's it. Is there some part of that you don't get?"

"Hey, we ain't saying it's a bad thing," Liam reasoned. "Ain't you ever wondered if she likes you that way?"

"No, because it doesn't matter! Look, guys, I get where you're coming from, but-"

"Hey, Lincoln!" They heard someone say, and turned to see Artie walking over to them.

"Hey, Artie."

"Hey, maybe he can help us out," Rusty suggested, making Lincoln facepalm and Artie look confused.

"Am I missing something?"

Lincoln sighed as he traded his orange polo for his red gym shirt. "Basically, these guys are insisting that, just because I'm hanging out with Jordan, I like her."

"It's not JUST that," Zach clarified. "You have seemed like you enjoy hanging out with her."

"I do, but I don't think about her that way!"

"To be honest, I never thought that either," Artie told the white haired Loud. "I just thought you were having fun, you know? Though, I'll admit, I was surprised you wanted to join them at the mall. It's not exactly my favourite place to go."

"Me neither, but my sisters were going to be going anyway, so I figured it'd be better if I didn't have to watch my sister's bags the whole time for once."

Artie couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I get what you mean. No offence, Lincoln, but after meeting one of your sisters, I can't see myself wanting to hang out with all ten of them."

"It's an acquired taste," Clyde pointed out, while Zach and Liam simply shuddered at the memories of when they first met some of Lincoln's sisters. "And it's easier once you get to know them."

"If getting to know them means pretending to be a corpse, I'm good." He gave a shudder of his own as he remarked, "I've never run so fast."

Lincoln gave a soft chuckle, shaking his head as he tied his shoelaces, now fully dressed. "That's fair, but yeah. They're… I guess quirky is the word, but I wouldn't want them to change."

"I get you."

"ANYONE NOT OUT HERE IN TWO MINUTES HAS TO DO TWENTY PUSH UPS!" They heard Coach Pakowski hell as he poked his head in through the door. "ANYONE WITHOUT THEIR GYM KITS EITHER TAKES PART IN THEIR USUAL CLOTHES OR IN THEIR UNDERWEAR! NO EXCEPTIONS!"

After the gym teacher walked away, the other boys all looked at each other for a second, before instantly making sure they were ready, walking out as quickly as they could to join the rest of their classmates in the gym hall, sitting down on the bleachers. After a couple of minutes, there were a couple of stragglers, who fell prey to the coach's warning, and were made to do push ups before sitting alongside the others.

"Alright, I will be the first to admit," Coach Pacowski spoke up, silencing any chatter amongst the students. "I was caught by surprise by this 'mathletics' competition. I had originally planned to lead you through some outdoors exercises, namely doing some shot put. However, the school rents equipment for activities such as the shot put, pole vault and javelin, so I've had to reschedule that for two weeks from now, because they were unable for today and have already been booked for next Friday." He then formed a sly smirk. "However, I have decided to make the most of this, and bring back an old favourite of mine."

"The parachute?" One of the students, Trent, asked hopefully, though his hopes were shot down by Pacowski's loud scoff.

"Nope! We will instead be doing… the obstacle course!" There were loud moans of displeasure at this, causing the teacher to roll his eyes before blowing his whistle, silencing them immediately. "No more crying! Any further complaints, you can do it twice." No one dared complain after that, knowing that he never bluffed when it came to extra 'exercise'. "Of course, it won't be the same course as last time, as this will be an outdoors course, and there are certain restrictions I now have to enforce if I want to keep my pay rise." He saw a couple of the students raise their hands to ask a question, but Pacowski ignored them. "Alright! Let's get warmed up. Do two laps of the gym hall, then make your way outside. Last one there has to do ten squats. Go!"

He blew into his whistle, and the twenty plus sixth graders immediately got off the bleachers and started jogging around the gym hall, some mumbling under their breaths about sitting high up in the bleachers. It didn't take long before the students began to make their way out to the field behind the school, where they could see the obstacle course laid out for them in a straight line, with reactions ranging between outright fear and plain displeasure. The seven section course started with a fifteen tyre tyre run, which led to a series of hurdles. Following that was a monkey bar set, a climbing wall and a vault swing. This came before a barbed wire crawl, after which was a balance beam which led to a rope climb with a bell at the top.

As the rest of the students made their way outside, with Clyde being unfortunate enough to be last and having to do squats, Lincoln asked, "coach? If you weren't able to rent the other equipment, where were you able to get this from?"

"Ah! Good question! You see, Loud, I've got an uncle who worked at a barracks, and he was able to lend me this stuff on short notice." Turning back to look at Clyde, who had just finished his squats, he barked, "McBride! You're up first!" The glasses wearing boy could only moan as he slowly jogged over to the start line, taking a puff of his inhaler. "Average time to complete this is one minute and a half. If you finish in over a hundred seconds, you have to do twenty push ups."

"Wait, what?"

The poor boy had no time to clarify, as Pacowski blew into his whistle and yelled "GO!"

With a yelp, the McBride boy took off, tripping up straight away on one of the tyres before gingerly getting back up and continuing. His friends could only feel sorry for the not so athletic boy as he continued.

"How long before he gets an asthma attack?" Zach whispered to Rusty. "I'm guessing the climbing wall."

"Nah, he'll just get past that and have one on the vault swing," the taller redhead replied.

"I dunno, fellas," Liam replied. "Clyde was never any good at the monkey bars."

"Give him some slack, guys," Stella chastised. "He might surprise you."

"Hate to spoil your optimism, but I'm with the guys here," Lincoln told her. "I think Rusty's got it spot on with this one." As he returned his gaze to his best friend's attempt at the course, he winced when Clyde tripped on his laces and went face first into the climbing wall. "That's gotta hurt…" Looking away from his friend's pain, he noticed that he wasn't the only one who was struggling. He turned back to Stella and said, "I'll be back in a second," before he walked over to Jordan, who was shaking slightly. "Hey… you okay?" With a gulp, she shook her head. "What's up?"

"B-barbed wire…"

The boy looked back at the course, before remembering the last time Coach Pacowski had tried to make the class run an obstacle course, and what Jordan had mentioned to him after that. "Ah… of course. I'd say ask Coach if you can skip that, but… I think we both know that won't work." When she frowned more at this, he regretted saying it. "Sorry."

She shook her head before saying, "it's okay."

"Alright, McBride. You're done," Pacowski called out, just as Clyde collapsed before he could try the vault swing. "Spokes, go pull him out of the way." As Rusty obliged, the gym teacher turned to the others and said, "Rosato! You're up next."

With a gulp, she started to walk over to the start line, but before she could get there, Lincoln shouted out, "actually, Coach, can I go next?"

While Jordan was surprised by his volunteering, Coach simply shrugged and said, "eh, sure, why not?"

Lincoln walked forward, passing his friend who simply watched curiously. As he approached the starting line, he approached the teacher and whispered, "would it be possible for Jordan to avoid the barbed wire? It makes her uncomfortable."

"Hmm… I guess so." Lincoln nodded to thank him, then walked up to the start line. "Alright, and… go!"

Coach blew his whistle, and Lincoln took off. He quick stepped his way through the tyre run, then clambered his way over the hurdles. After that, he swung across the monkey bars, climbed over the climbing wall and used the vault to reach the rope and swing across. He then got down to the ground and army crawled under the barbed wire, feeling it prick on his shirt a couple of times but avoiding it pricking his skin. Once he was done, he quickly got up and practically sprinted across the balance beam, leaping off the end to grab the rope which he started to climb up, and though he was beginning to tire, he was able to reach the top and ring the bell, ending his run.

"One thirty-two! Not bad, Loud!" Pacowski commended, Lincoln giving a small fist pump as he made his way back. "Alright, Rosato! Your turn!" Jordan gulped, making her way up to the start line and getting ready to do her run, but was surprised when Coach leaned towards her and said, "if you don't want to do the barbed wire, crawl alongside it. That's the best I can do for you."

"Huh?" While he didn't say anything to the surprised girl, he did give a small jab of his thumb towards the Loud boy, who was being congratulated by his friends, and she gave a small smile. 'Thanks, Lincoln…'

* * *

After Jordan took her run, she sat down with the rest of her friends as one by one, the other students all took their attempts at the obstacle course, some completing it in good times, while others were unfortunately slow, which meant they had to perform the 'punishment' the gym teacher had previously warned them about. As Mollie finished her run, Coach turned to the rest of the students and announced, "okay, back into the gym hall. You can rest for two minutes, and then we'll finish with a game of dodgeball."

A few kids groaned, but chose not to voice their complaints as they made their way into the gym hall. "Why does Coach always end things with dodgeball?" Stella asked Lincoln.

"Beats me," he replied with a shrug. "He's done it as long as I can remember."

"I guess. Still, at least that obstacle course is done." She looked at a rip in her gym shirt. "Why did he have to use barbed wire?"

Lincoln again simply shrugged, but before he could say anything, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he saw that it was from Jordan. "Hey, Lincoln? Can I talk to you a second?"

"Yeah, sure." He turned to Stella and said, "I'll catch up in a second," then turned back to Jordan once Stella nodded to him. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say… well, thanks," she told him. "Coach kinda told me what you said to him."

"Oh… he did?"

"Sort of. So… why'd you do it?"

"I'll be honest… I just kind of did. Maybe it's part of having ten sisters, but… I didn't want you to do something you were uncomfortable with."

She looked at him for a couple of seconds, surprised by how selfless his gesture was, before smiling, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "well, I really appreciate it, Lincoln. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Jordan."

He started to walk away, before she added, "just so you know?" Her smile turned to a smirk. "That doesn't mean I'm going easy on you in dodgeball. I've got a title to defend, you know?"

He offered a chuckle before replying, "I wouldn't expect any different. Just hope you're prepared to lose that title."

She scoffed and walked past him, giving a "we'll see" as she headed over to her friends. Lincoln simply gave a soft shake of his head, before heading over to the guys and Stella. After about a minute, of everyone sitting around and talking, Coach Pacowski reappeared, closing the door as he entered the gym hall.

"Alright, get in a line!" He commanded, the students wasting no time in doing so. "We're gonna have one game. Everyone left of Loud is one team, everyone right of Freilich is the other team. I say you're out, you're out, no messing about. Got it?" He didn't wait for a response before blowing his whistle, prompting the sixth graders to move to either side of the gym hall. He laid out five dodgeballs along the halfway line, then stepped to the sidelines. "Ready?"

He blew his whistle, and the students rushed to grab the balls, before returning to the far sides of the hall. "Okay, guys! Scorpion formation!" Rusty commanded, prompting the others to form a line facing the other team. Looking at Lincoln, however, he saw that the white-haired boy was not in formation as the scorpion's tail, and was instead stood with a dodgeball in hand. "Lincoln! What are you doing?"

He looked over at Rusty, then to the other team, where he saw Jordan with a daring smirk on her face. He mirrored it, then turned to Rusty and said, "sorry, guys. Not this time."

As soon as Pacowski blew his whistle, Lincoln ran forward, throwing the ball at the other team. "Lincoln!" Rusty called out again, only to get beaned by a ball from Jordan, prompting Clyde to yell, "ABANDON FORMATION!"

As his friends abandoned their usual strategy, Lincoln found himself in a different world of sorts. Rather than his usual methods of 'try the scorpion formation until one of them gets beaned, then throw and pray', Lincoln found himself recalling the different 'lessons' he had learnt from Lynn whenever she trained him over the past week. After his first ball missed, he immediately jogged back to the far wall so he could keep an eye out. While a few of his teammates had already fallen prey, he saw an oncoming ball from Kat and quickly positioned his hands so he could catch it, eliminating her. Seeing that Artie was about to throw his ball, Lincoln moved forward and timed his throw so it left his hands just when Artie's arm was fully extended, giving him no time to react before he was eliminated. Lincoln didn't waste any time celebrating, as he was able to see Jordan throw a ball his way, which he was able to sidestep, though it did hit Clyde instead.

On the other side of things, Jordan had noticed how Lincoln wasn't going for his usual strategy. 'Guess he really is playing to win,' she thought, a grin reappearing on her face. 'Okay, Loud. Game on.'

From there, the two teams continued the game, balls flying back and forth between them. Players were eliminated every so often, some just getting caught off guard while some were absolutely pulverised by the projectile impact. A couple of minutes later, after Jordan managed to block an oncoming shot and return one of her own, Stella was eliminated, walking over to the bleachers where the others watched on as Jordan and Lincoln remained in the game, one on one.

"Lincoln's really going for it!" She admitted as she watched Lincoln throw another dodgeball, only for Jordan to duck it.

"I've never seen him like this before!" Clyde confessed.

"Maybe it's because it's Girl Jordan," Liam suggested. "After all, she is the dodgeball queen."

"Or maybe it's because he wants to impress her," Rusty countered, a sly grin on his face making Stella groan.

"You guys really need to let that go." She looked back at the game in hand, and noticed that Lincoln did look more determined than usual. "Still, he's definitely into this game."

While they talked, Lincoln rolled to one side, dodging an oncoming ball and landing in position to grab another from the ground. Standing up tall, he saw Jordan reaching for more 'ammo', and he smirked. "Time to end this!"

He arched his arm back and threw it at his opponent, but Jordan had already grabbed another ball, and used it to block Lincoln's attack. "Nice try, Lincoln," she said under her breath before returning the favour. She threw the ball and it hit him square in the chest, knocking him onto his backside. "Yes!"

However, she and everyone else gasped when Lincoln held his hands up in the air, the dodgeball firmly in his grasp. No one said anything for about ten seconds- not even Coach Pacowski, whose whistle fell from his hands and dangled from its strap. Jordan was undoubtedly the most shocked, having been so certain that she had won again, only for the exact opposite to happen.

"… he won," Clyde finally said, snapping some of his friends out of their stupors.

"HE WON!"

The next thing Lincoln knew, his team had run over and were lifting him into the air, treating him like a hero as they chanted his name. He couldn't help but revel in it for a few seconds, cheering for his momentous victory, before he looked over at Jordan, who was still in shock at her loss. After his friends finally put him down, he walked over to the girl. "Hey," he said, holding out his hand. "Good game."

She stared at his hand for a few seconds, then back at him, before giving a smile. "Good game, Lincoln," she replied, shaking his hand. "Gotta admit, wasn't expecting that."

"Me neither, to be honest. Guess Lynn's training paid off."

She gave a small laugh, then said, "well, I might not be undefeated, but I'm still the school's dodgeball queen, so don't expect the same result next time."

He gave a laugh of his own and told her, "we'll see."


	36. Ch 36- A Way Of Saying Thanks

Sunday had come back around in Royal Woods, and for most of the Louds, it was a day of relaxation. Of course, to most people, rocking out on the electric guitar, visiting a graveyard, searching the back garden for worms and conducting experiments wouldn't be considered 'relaxing'. Truth be told, it wasn't that different from what the Loud family did on other days, except that they were able to do it by themselves at their own leisurely pace. For one Lincoln Loud, he was sat on the couch with the TV to himself, currently playing one of his video games, his eyes and concentration fixated on the combat shown on the screen.

That concentration, however, was disrupted after he cleared a level, when the front door forcefully opened, his athletic older sister stomping her way in with a scowl on her face, her roller skates hanging over her shoulder and her helmet on her head. As she slammed the door shut, Lincoln decided to pause his game before the next level could start and address the issue.

"You okay, Lynn?" He asked.

"Not really, Stinkoln," she replied, her barb not affecting Lincoln since he could tell she was stressed.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She looked over at her brother, sensing that he probably wouldn't let the problem go that easily. Though she didn't particularly want to talk about it, she couldn't deny that her brother was typically one of, if not, the first to always lend her an ear when she was having issues, so with a huff, she plonked herself down on the couch next to him. "I went to roller derby practice, same as usual, but for some reason, my coach wouldn't let me practice! I showed her the doc's letter to prove I was ready, I told her my other coaches had let me practice, and even Margo stood up for me, but she wasn't having any of it! She just said, "come back next week, and we'll see". What a load of crock!"

Giving a sympathetic frown, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "sorry to hear that, Lynn. I guess she didn't want to risk you getting injured again."

"Linc, I know you've only been doing dodgeball for a month, but even you've gotta know by this point that in any sport, 'no pain, no gain' is true." She gave a sigh. "Oh well… can't do anything about it now." She got up and made her way upstairs, though not without first saying, "have fun at dodgeball, bro."

Lincoln watched as she disappeared upstairs, unable to stop himself from feeling bad for her. 'Shame she doesn't have anything to do,' he thought. 'If I didn't have gymnastics, I'd see if she wants to hang out with me. Ever since she started training me, we've been getting on better.'

_That previous Friday, after school, Lynn had taken Lincoln on a parkour run through the city, the two using benches, railings, and the ramps at the skate park to build momentum and practice different manoeuvres. Lynn has been acting as a guide, of sorts, showing Lincoln how to do everything, while challenging Lincoln to keep up with her. He had managed to do so for most of half an hour, impressing Lynn with his modest athleticism, a considerable improvement from when he first tried football yet still with plenty of room for improvement. However, when she vaulted over one bench onto the grass behind it, Lincoln's attempt to follow her had been unsuccessful, his foot catching on the backrest and causing him to face plant on the grass. It hadn't caused any damage, but it had hurt and winded him enough that Lynn decided it was a good time for a rest. She had brought a couple of water bottles in her bag, so they found a bench to sit down at and took time recovering, talking while rehydrating about stuff like what had happened at school, including what had happened in the boy's gym class the boy._

"_No way! You broke her undefeated streak, AND you were the last man standing?!" She gasped, astonished._

_With a not so modest smirk, he replied, "yep. Jordan's my friend, and I was sure to shake hands with her, but… I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel good about it."_

_He was then caught off guard as she lunges forward and threw her arms around her brother, locking him in the bear hug. "I'm so proud of you, Link! That's awesome!" When he was released, he was slightly gasping for air, but still had a smile upon seeing how ecstatic she was with the news. "Seriously, that's amazing! Your practice is really paying off!"_

_With a nervous chuckle, he scratched his cheek with his index finger. "I dunno about that… honestly, I'd say it's more your extra training that's helped me."_

"_Pffft! Don't be ridiculous! You've been doing six hours a week for the past month, and my extra five hours of training with you is what did it?"_

"_Don't be so quick to deny it. I wasn't really getting the hang of it those first few weeks, but now that you've been helping me out as well… it's starting to work for me, you know?"_

_She couldn't help but smile, even blush slightly, at hearing her brother speak so highly of her efforts. "I think you're talking out of your butt… but thanks, Link."_

"_No, Lynn. Thank you. You didn't have to do any of that, but you still did."_

"_Are you kidding? Link, I may go to up to six different training sessions a week, not including gym class, but that doesn't compare to training with my little bro. I was more than happy to, because you're the best little bro I could ask for."_

_She pulled her brother into another hug, and while he returned this one, he didn't do so smiling, instead with a face reflecting his feelings of guilt. "Uh… thanks, Lynn…"_

'She's been so helpful since she got her cast off, and yet she doesn't even know what I really do three times a week,' He pondered, his guilt returning as well as his frown. 'I'd tell her the truth, but… honestly, I think Lynn is one of the ones I'm most scared of telling. On the one hand, she might understand, since she does all these sports, and she's been… she's actually been proud of me, even though it's for the wrong reason. I've actually enjoyed training with her… for the most part.' He let out a small chuckle, but his frown still remained. 'On the other hand, what if she hates me for it? For one thing, it's not exactly a 'masculine' sport, and she might think it's lame. And what if she thinks I was taking advantage of her by not telling her the truth? She's been training me for a completely different sport, and it's been the most we've ever hung out, just the two of us. What if she hates me for it?'

His mind went back and forth between the two points, his reasons justifying and disputing the two arguments, until he remembered something Jordan had told him:

"_It'll only get worse the longer you leave it."_

'She's right. If I don't tell one of them soon, it won't just be harder to tell them, but they might get more angry when they find out I've been lying to them. But, should I start with Lynn? Or should I work my way towards telling her, start with one of my other sisters first? One who might be more… understanding?'

As he pondered this query, he heard footsteps on the staircase again, and turned to see his mother coming down them. She looked over at her son, and smiled. "Hey, sweetie," she greeted.

"Hey, mom," he greeted back. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, I've just put Lily down for a nap before lunch, think I'm gonna read a book for a little bit."

"Okay." He turned back around, but just as she opened the door to his parents' bedroom, he turned to face her again and asked, "mom? Could you… give me some advice?"

After nearly eighteen years of parenting, Rita was always quick to pick up on her kids' worries, so she sat down next to her son on the couch. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Well… I've got this… task, I guess you could say. I've put it off a little bit, and I need to start it, but I don't know how to do so, and the longer I wait, the harder it's going to be. There's one thing I can do which I think might be easy, and one thing which I think will be really hard. Which one should I start with?"

She thought for a few seconds, not only about what her response should be, but what he really meant by 'task'. She didn't think it was anything relating to school work, since she hadn't heard him mention any assignments, and his teachers hadn't called her or Lynn Sr about anything, so she figured it would be a hobby project or something similar. When she reached this conclusion, an idea came to mind which seemed fairly plausible.

"Well, Lincoln," she told him, carefully thinking about what wording she would use to explain her answer, "I'm not sure what your 'task' is. However, if you think it will become harder to do the longer you leave it, then I would suggest two things. The first is, if there are multiple parts to your 'task', don't leave too long between them. Plan it out so it doesn't pile up too much." He nodded, making a mental note to think about that later. "As for where to begin… I think, if you get the hard part out of the way, the rest will be easier. It's like when I started my book- it's not always easy, but once you get that hardest step out of the way, it can make the rest of it easier to do."

He took a few seconds to digest this, before smiling and saying, "thanks, mom." With a smile, she ruffled his hair, before going to her and her husband's bedroom. Lincoln, meanwhile, knew what his next course of action was.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed, and after making himself lunch and gathering his things for gymnastics, Lincoln found himself outside the bedroom door of his next oldest and next youngest sisters. Placing a knock on the door, he waited a few seconds before his spooky younger sister appeared. "Hey, Lucy," he greeted. "Is Lynn in here?"

"I think she's outside," she bluntly replied. "Do you have a rhyme for betray?"

"Um… maybe stray?"

"Hmm… that works nicely. Thanks, Lincoln."

While she returned to her poem, Lincoln headed downstairs and outside through the kitchen door, quickly seeing Lynn sat with her back to the tree. "Hey, Lynn," he greeted. "Are you busy?"

"Me? Nah, I'm bored," she tiredly replied. "Sucks having nothing to do."

"Well, I was wondering if… if you wanted to… come watch me practice?"

Her eyes, previously half-lidded, opened up curiously. "Really? I thought you said that spectators weren't allowed?"

"Well… I might have lied about that." He saw her get to feet and frantically added, "I wasn't ready for you to watch me yet!"

With a scoff and a smirk, she told her brother, "relax, Stinkoln. I get it. And, yeah, that sound like fun. I'll go grab my phone, and then we'll take off."

"Okay, great. I'll let mom know we're going." She nodded to him, before they headed back inside. While his sister headed upstairs, he approached his parents' open bedroom door, and placed a knock on it, getting his mother's attention. "Me and Lynn are gonna head to practice."

"Okay, sweetie. Let me know if you need me to pick you up."

He nodded to his mother's reply, then turned to see LJ head downstairs. "Alright, bro! Let's get going!" He nodded, and the two headed out the front door and on their way to Jordan's house. "So, we walking with your girlfriend?"

He let out a small groan, pinching his eyes shut. "Not. My. Girlfriend."

"Yeah, for now. Give it time."

He simply rolled his eyes, before explaining, "we're meeting up with the other girls at Jordan's house, and we'll walk to the sports centre from there."

"The one near the North of town? I didn't know they do dodgeball."

"Oh, uh, that's because… it's not their most well known club! Yeah, that's it. It's, uh, newer than the others."

She was a little dubious for a second, but simply shrugged it off. "Fair enough." He gave a sigh out of relief, which went unnoticed. "So, have any of the others seen you practice?"

"Mom's seen a little, but dad and our other sisters haven't. I figured it would be best if you were the first, since you've been helping me to train. Plus, there's… something I want to talk to you about." She was going to ask what, but he cut her off, adding "not here. I want to talk to you about it when we get there."

She shrugged it off, and the two of them continued on their way, Lynn trying time and time again to get Lincoln to tell her more about what happened at his practice, with the white haired boy insisting it be a surprise. They chatted about other things, like school and hobbies (though, it was more Lynn trying to get Lincoln interested in other sports stuff, while she pretty much ignored what he said about video games or superheroes). When they eventually reached Jordan's house, Lincoln saw that she and the rest of the girls were just coming out from the front door, the girl in the yellow shirt smiling when she saw Lincoln.

"There you are!" she said, walking over to her friend. "We were just about to set off."

"Sorry I'm a little late," he replied, "had to ask Lynn if she wanted to come first."

She nodded, having been texted before that Lincoln was going to bring his sister with him. She turned to the older girl and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Jordan. You're Lynn, right?"

Lynn smirked as she shook the girl's hand. "Yep. Nice to meet you, Jordan."

"Nice to meet you too." They let go of each other's hand before she added, "I hear you've been training Lincoln on the side."

"Yep! And it sounds like it's paid off, if he beat you!"

Jordan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm no longer undefeated, but it won't be the same result next time. I'm still the dodgeball queen, and there's only one throne."

"Well, we'll see about that." Lynn pulled her brother into a side headlock, holding him a little too tightly. "With my training, my bro'll be the dodgeball king."

"Not if he can't breathe!" They heard Mollie call out, making Lynn realise that Lincoln was struggling to get out, so she let go, ignoring the titters from his friends as he regained his breathing. "Now, come on, we're gonna be late."

The girls agreeing, they began to walk towards practice. Jordan, after checking that Lincoln was okay, hung a little bit further back with the boy as the girls walked slightly ahead. "You ready for this?" She asked, his nerves not hidden well behind his expression.

"I don't know if I'm ready," he confided, still a little breathless after Lynn's 'display of affection', "but I think if I don't start now, I'm not gonna be able to."

"I'll be honest, I was surprised when you told me that you were bringing Lynn. I would have thought you would tell Leni first, given how nice she is."

"Well, I'll be honest and admit, this was sort of a last minute decision. Had I not remembered what you told me on Thursday, then I might not have decided to go through with it."

She gave a small smile as she told him, "I'm glad I could help, then. If you need me to talk to Lynn at all, I'd be happy to do so." He smiled back, giving her a "thanks" in return to her offer. "Now, come on, before they start saying we're boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever." He couldn't help but chuckle as she jogged on ahead to catch up with her friends, before doing the same.

* * *

Eventually, they all reached the sports centre. While his friends went on inside, Lincoln pulled his sister back by her shoulder. "Hey, before we go in, I… need to talk to you," he explained.

"What's up?" She asked.

"There's something I need to tell you… but before I can, I need you to promise me that, no matter what, you will NOT tell our sisters."

Surprised by the request, she squinted her eyes. "Why?"

"Just promise me, Lynn." She was a little caught off guard by his forceful tone, which he quickly realised. "Please."

"Alright, no need to get soppy on me, bro. I promise, whatever you tell me, it'll stay between us." She threw in the 'cross my heart' gesture for good measure. "So, what is it?"

Looking down at his feet, he took a deep breath, before he began his explanation. "I haven't been honest with you."

She gave a couple of blinks, before replying, "I don't get it."

Looking back up, he gestured for her to follow him, and the two made their way inside. "The truth is, I haven't been doing dodgeball all this time. Other than in gym class and with you, I don't do dodgeball."

"Wait, what? If you don't do dodgeball, then what do you do?"

"I think it's easier if I show you." She wanted to say more, but when he led her through the double doors and she saw what he was showing her, the words weren't coming to her, so Lincoln chose to speak instead. "This is the truth. For the past month, I've been doing gymnastics."


	37. Ch 37- The First To Know

Lynn stood there for a moment, silently taking in her surroundings. It was by no means her first time seeing vaults and balance beams and rings and the like- she had used them herself a couple of times during gym class, but never particularly by choice, as she had never taken much joy out of it. She had even been to this particular sports centre at least once before, but she had never been to this particular room in the centre, and pretty much never knew it existed. She could see a few younger children, already dressed for exercise, talking amongst each other, as well as who she assumed were some of their parents, while also seeing an adult man in a white t-shirt and red shorts with a clipboard in his hand.

"So," she finally spoke after about half a minute of silence, "all those times you said you were going to dodgeball practice… you've been coming here?"

Turning to look at her brother again, she saw him nod, his frown reflecting his guilt. "Yeah. This is what I've been doing all this time. I would've told you sooner, but… I wasn't sure how you and the others would react."

"So, this whole time… you've kept it from us?" He could hear her voice rise a little, worrying him that she was angry. "Do any of them know?"

"Well, mom found out a few weeks ago- I didn't lie when I said she saw me practice a little, though I didn't know she had seen it until practice was over." Lynn's eyes widened slightly as she remembered when her mother had taken her to the hospital for a checkup on her leg, and how Lincoln had called her to pick him up. "Once I had told her, I told dad after dinner while you guys were having a meeting."

Lynn's eyes widened again. "Wait a minute. Mom told us that you weren't at that meeting because you were keeping dad distracted so we could help her think of a present for his birthday. Was that just…"

"A decoy?" He rubbed the back of his arm, his nerves increasing. "Y-Yeah, sort of. I don't know if mom actually needed help with that or not."

She was going to say something about this, but seeing how her brother was clearly nervous about opening up to her about… well, everything, she decided to take a quick breath before asking, "so, mom and dad know. Is that it?"

"Well, Clyde and the others found out at our sleepover, though that was kind of… well, it's a long story."

"You didn't even tell them about it at first?"

With a shake of his head, he explained, "I was worried about one of you finding out from them. Clyde comes over quite a bit, and then there's the chance one of our younger sisters could overhear at school."

"So… s-so, this whole time, you've-"

"Lincoln!" They heard a voice call, both turning to see Chris jogging over. "Practice starts in five minutes, so you better go get changed."

"Okay. Chris, this is my sister Lynn. Is it okay if she watches practice?"

"Sure thing, man."

Lincoln nodded, then turned to Lynn and asked, "is it okay if we talk about this after?"

"Sure… we'll talk later." Though he could sense she wasn't fully happy about that, he walked off in the direction of the changing room, giving Lynn the opportunity to talk to Chris alone. "Nice to meet you, I guess."

He saw the girl extend her hand, so he shook it. "Nice to meet you too, Lynn. Lincoln's told me you've trained him a little on the side."

"Y-Yeah, kind of."

He gave a small laugh before replying, "yeah, Linc's told me a little about the… situation, I guess is what you could call it." Taking a knee, he put a hand on her shoulder, getting her full attention. "I know you've got a lot of thoughts going round your head- questions you want to ask him, doubts, maybe a bit of confusion."

She scoffed. "A bit is an understatement."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm not exactly a psychologist or whatever, so take this with a pinch of salt… but don't go too hard on the guy. All these things you're feeling, he's probably feeling the same things."

"I… I guess." He gave a small nod, then got back to his feet before she could ask, "so… what sort of things do you teach here?"

* * *

While Lynn was speaking with Chris, Lincoln entered the changing room, placing his gym bag on a nearby hook as he began to get changed. While he was doing that, Artie- fully dressed in his leotard- saw Lincoln and smiled. "Hey, Lincoln," he greeted. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Oh, hey, Artie," Lincoln replied, making the brown-haired boy's smile drop.

"Woah, you okay?" Looking at the Loud boy's face, he remarked, "you look kind of spooked."

As he put on his gym shirt, Lincoln looked over and explained, "something like that. I've decided to tell one of my sisters, and she's out there talking with Chris at the moment."

"Ah, I get you. Worried about how she's reacting to all of this?" Lincoln nodded. "Well, you're letting her actually watch rather than just telling her, so I guess if you show her how much you're enjoying it, it'll help. Worst case scenario, it softens the blow."

With a deadpan expression, Lincoln's remark to this was, "gee, thanks."

Artie let out a couple of chuckles. "I'm joking, dude. Relax, she's not gonna flip out on you or anything."

'I'm glad you think so,' the white haired boy couldn't help but think, but instead of saying this, he offered a smile and said, "thanks." Artie nodded, before getting to his feet and leaving the changing room, leaving Lincoln alone with his thoughts as he continued to get changed. 'Okay, Lincoln,' he thought to himself. 'There's no turning back now. Just take it a step at a time. You've made it this far. You can do this.'

Once he was fully dressed, he made his way back out of the changing room, where everyone else was ready for practice, while he could see that Chris was still talking with Lynn. While he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, he simply hoped for the former as he walked over to Jordan.

"You okay?" She immediately asked him.

"As much as I can be, I guess," he confessed, then quickly added, "still, I might as well enjoy myself. That's why I come here, after all."

She smiled and gave a nod. "Exactly."

"Alright, kids!" They heard Chris call out, turning in time to see him walk over. "Let's get started with a warm up."

So, for the next couple of hours, Chris led the kids through another session of TeamGym, starting with the trampette after warming up, focusing first on the proper technique for the jump, then on recovery from the initial landing, both for the vault trampette and the vaultless trampette. After a five minute break, they moved onto tumbling, spending at least half an hour working on some new manoeuvres for the kids to learn, before allowing them to do a run.

Throughout the session, Lynn watched on- mainly focusing on Lincoln to see how he was doing, but occasionally looking at what some of the other kids were doing as well. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't interested, having been curious from the start since this was what Lincoln had revealed to have been doing for the past month. She couldn't honestly say that she understood why Lincoln was interested in this, since it wasn't the type of sport where you could win, or at least not like basketball or hockey. Then again, seeing her brother practice as he did, she couldn't deny that he seemed to be into it. As his older sister, she was happy to see him happy, but she was in two minds about the situation.

Lincoln, on the other hand, did his best to focus on the session at hand. Whenever he was chosen to do a run or practice a move, this was relatively easy, as it took his full attention to make sure he didn't screw up- one moment of distraction could cause even the slightest misplacement of a hand or foot to throw him off, but he was fortunate enough to avoid that for the most part, and was starting to feel like he was really getting the hang of it. When it wasn't his run or his turn, however, he found himself occasionally glancing over to Lynn, trying to see if he could figure out how she was reacting to all of this. She would occasionally be looking at him when he looked over at her, so he would quickly look away again in an attempt to avoid suspicion, but when she wasn't looking, her facial expression gave away no signs as to what she was thinking. This didn't comfort him, but at the same time, it didn't make him feel more worried. All he could do was hope that she would open up to him afterward.

After the final stretches and cool down were complete, the session was over and the kids began to leave, some going straight away while others went to get changed first. Lincoln, however, made his way over to his sister first. "So… what did you think?" He nervously asked.

She didn't answer straight away, instead trying to think how to word it. "It was… interesting," she eventually told her brother, her answer not instilling confidence in him.

"Oh… so, you didn't enjoy it."

She mentally groaned at this, her guilt appearing when she saw him frown. "That's not what I… look, bro. It's not that I didn't enjoy it. I'm just… not used to being on the sidelines during practices, you know?" He did nod, showing he understood, but it didn't make him feel better, and it showed. With a heavy sigh, she put a hand on his shoulder, attracting his gaze. "Look, Linc, I'm gonna be straight with you- I need to think about this a bit. Can we maybe talk about this later?"

As he looked back at his sister, he could see a bit of pain behind her stare, letting him know that none of this was easy for her, possibly even harder than it was for him. "… okay," he answered with a nod, his voice unconsciously quieter.

"Alright. Mom's outside, she said she'd drop Jordan off and take us home, so I'll head out to meet her, while you and your friend get changed."

He nodded again, and they both went their separate ways, with Lynn heading towards the exit and Lincoln heading into the changing room. Artie had already packed up and left by the time Lincoln was done talking with his sister, so he was the only one there as he put his feet into his shoes and grabbed his bag with his other clothes, then made his way back out, where he saw Jordan stood waiting for him. "My mom said she'll drive you home," he told his friend. "She's waiting outside with Lynn."

"Okay," she replied, the two beginning to walk towards the entrance. "How's everything going with your sister? How's she taking everything?"

"Honestly? Not as well as I'd like, though better than I was expecting. She said she needs to think about it."

"I see. What about you?" He looked at her, a little confused. "How are you taking all this?"

A small exhale escaped from his mouth, before he told her, "about the same as her, I think. Not as well as I'd like it to, but a bit better than I had feared."

"I guess that's a good thing," she offered, trying to make him feel better about the situation. "I'd ask if you want me to talk to her, but… I don't know if it's my place to." She placed a hand on his upper arm, then added, "well, if you need someone to talk to later, then give me a text, okay?"

He smiled, thankful for her being supportive. "Thanks, Jordan."

* * *

Almost half an hour later, Vanzilla arrived back at Franklin Avenue, Rita having already dropped off Jordan before getting her kids home. The ride had been quiet for the most part, with Rita speaking to Jordan slightly more than her kids since Jordan actually spoke back. Lynn didn't even make a remark when Lincoln and Jordan shared a hug before the Rosato girl got out of the van. As Rita turned off the engine, she turned to her kids, who had already undone their seatbelts, and said, "alright, we're back." Lincoln got out of the van first, but before Lynn could, Rita told her, "one second, Lynn." The dental assistant waited for her son to go in the house, before asking the young athlete, "so, is everything okay between you two now?"

"S-Sort of," she confessed, scratching her cheek nervously. She had already been told by her mother that she knew why Lincoln had asked her to join him at practice. "We didn't get much chance to talk one-on-one, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all."

"Hmm… I see. Well, make sure you think about it, and remember that this is just as hard for Lincoln as it is for you. Okay?" She nodded to her mother. "Alright. Now, go on in. I need to speak with Mr Grouse. Apparently, one of Lana's pets snuck into his garden and scared him."

With a shake of her head, the mother of eleven left her van and prepared to deal with her grouchy neighbour, leaving her fifth eldest daughter to head inside, making a steady beeline towards her shared bedroom, where her goth younger sister sat at her desk, writing what was likely another poem. "Hey, Luce," she greeted, practically leaping onto her bed. "What's shaking?"

"Nothing, really," she responded in her typically monotonous way. "How was Lincoln's training?"

"Oh, it was… kinda cool." The second Lynn heard Lucy's pen stop scribing, she knew exactly what was about to happen: 'she'll put her quill back in her ink pot, close her stupid book, shuffle her chair back, and turn to face me.' Lo and behold, that was exactly what happened.

"'Kinda cool'? You, Lynn Loud Jr, who plays in at least seven different sports regularly, and loves everything sport related… thought it was 'kinda cool'." Despite not looking at her younger sister, she knew that despite her eyes not being visible for her bangs, her eyes were squinted in confusion.

"Oh, buzz off, Luce. I've got stuff on my mind right now, I don't need you on my case."

"… is it to do with Lincoln?"

"Come on, Luce, what part of buzz of don't you get?"

"Sigh. Okay, fine. I'll just go talk to Lincoln."

Lucy didn't even fully make it to her feet before Lynn had sat back up and was saying, "wait, alright, fine, I'll tell you." With a sliver of a smile, Lucy shuffled her chair towards the jock, who was thinking about how to explain it without breaking her promise to her brother. "Here's the deal- Lincoln talked to me about something, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I'm happy he told me, but on the other hand, I'm mad he chose now to tell me." Lucy opened her mouth, but Lynn was quick to cut her off and explain, "I'm not telling you what he said." Lucy's mouth promptly shut again, while her older sister simply sighed. "Honestly, I don't know what to think about all this."

Lucy took the moment to take in her sister's posture, tone and facial expression. She was hunched forward, whereas Lynn usually stood up straight as a sign of her physical prowess. Her eyes looked slightly tired, staring down at the floor, and her voice sounded kind of lost, making Lucy able to tell that Lynn was desperately trying to figure it out, and while it wasn't blatant, she figured it was because she didn't want to ruin the relationship between her and their brother, which had been somewhat improved as of late.

"Can I give you some advice?"

Lynn gave a small scoff at the suggestion, remarking, "I thought that was my job. But, yeah, I could definitely use it. What you got, Coach?"

"Think about whatever he told you from his perspective. If you can figure out where he's coming from, it might shed some light and help you put your own thoughts into perspective."

Lynn thought about it for a second, her sister's advice bringing a smile to her face. "That's pretty good, Lucy. Kind of like when playing football, you've gotta think about what the other team is planning so you can prepare your defence."

"… sure."

Lynn gave a smirk, seeing that her sister didn't realise how that analogy worked. "Thanks, Lucy."

"Sure thing." Before Lynn could do anything else, the goth girl asked, "could you help me with my poetry? I'm struggling to get the flow going."

"… eh, sure, why not? We've got some time before Dream Boat."


	38. Ch 38- One On One

**(A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry about this being late. I'm back at Uni now, and as anyone who has ever been to university will tell you, one of the first things that is pretty much bound to happen is you'll get Freshers Flu. It's nothing serious, but it's thrown me off, so I've needed a few days to rest, but I'm alright now. Hopefully, I should be able to maintain my current upload schedule, but if I don't… blame lectures, I guess?**

**Thanks for reading once again, and enjoy!)**

For Lincoln Loud, the rest of the day had been… tense, to say the least. He had tried to speak with Lynn before Dream Boat, but she had told him that they would meet later, once everyone else was asleep, so that they wouldn't be interrupted. Though he had agreed, he noticed how she pretty much didn't talk to him for the rest of the day, which only made him feel more nervous about their forthcoming confrontation. His sisters had noticed a couple of times, during Dream Boat and dinner, how he seemed on edge, but he would tell them that he was fine. Even when Lucy, ever the perceptive one, would ask him if things were okay between him and Lynn, he would assure her that everything was okay, and that she didn't need to worry about it. Even though she didn't fully believe him, she left the issue alone, leaving him to distract himself for the last few hours before their parents would enforce bedtime.

Lynn found herself unknowingly having no easier a time than Lincoln. Lynn had always been someone who preferred actions to words, but she knew that this wasn't the kind of situation where she could do some big gesture to let Lincoln know how she felt. Truth be told, she was still trying to fully figure out how she felt in the final hours before she was scheduled to meet with her little brother, this situation being a first for her. The only conclusion she was able to reach, in between telling Lucy to buzz off and that she was fine, was that the only way she could really deal with this was to talk with Lincoln. While she'd be lying out of her rear end if she said she was looking forward to it, she did want to clear the air between them, and not leave it any longer.

Eventually, dusk fell over Royal Woods, and the Loud siblings had made their way to their rooms, ready to call it a night. The athlete of the family waited a few minutes, knowing that if she went down too quickly, her parents would demand they go back to bed, and while they could have talked in Lincoln's room, his room was too small, and the walls were too thin, so talking downstairs was their best option. Once she was confident enough that the rest of her siblings were asleep, she sat up, slipping her legs out from her bed so she could put her feet into her slippers, and stood up. Looking over at Lucy, she saw that her bed coffin… thing was shut, and she knew that thing was close to soundproof, so she wouldn't be an issue.

Quietly, she tiptoed her way towards the door, wincing at the slight creak it gave off which made her hold her breath, but after a few seconds with no response, she exhaled and continued on her way. Tiptoeing to the staircase, she carefully and quietly descended to the living room, then turned into the dining room, where she could see her brother was already waiting for her, two glasses in hand.

"Oh!" She quietly exclaimed, surprised at his punctuality. "I, uh… kind of figured I was gonna be waiting for you."

He simply shook his head and told her, "I didn't want to keep you waiting. Figured it would be best not to… drag it out any further, I guess." She gave a nod to him, feeling her nerves return. "Do you… want some water?"

"Uh… sure, go for it." She watched as he turned towards the sink, turning on the tap and allowing the cold water to fill up the two glasses before turning it off again, then handed one glass to her. "Thanks. So… couch?"

"Okay." He followed his next oldest sister into the living room, sitting down beside her and taking a small sip of water before setting the glass down on the coffee table and looking at her, the moonlight poking through the half-curtained window giving him just enough view of her expression- conflicted, but definitely not happy. "So… is there anything you want to say first?"

"Honestly? I don't even know where to begin with all this." She gave a small shake of her head, then took a quick sip from her own glass before speaking again. "This is honestly a lot to take in, Linc. Even after thinking about it for, like, two straight hours, I don't know what I'm supposed to feel." He could make out that her frown was becoming apparent on her face, a sigh escaping her lips. "I know we haven't always been the closest out of our siblings, but… I never thought you'd hide _this_ from me." He frowned as well, feeling guilty once more. "Why didn't you just tell us the truth right from the start?"

"Well… I was going to at first. Honestly, I was. I just… got caught up in the 'what if' of it all."

She blinked, his analogy not working for her. "I'm sorry, the 'what if' of it? What's that mean, Linc?"

"Oh, geez, how do I put this… well… do you remember the time the toilet clogged up?"

"Lincoln, you're gonna have to be more specific."

He gritted his teeth, the memories of what he was referring to starting to build up in his mind. "Okay… remember the time it got clogged because of… a _book_?"

"A book? What kind of-" And then it hit her, clear as day. "Oh! That book. Honestly, I still can't believe you read that stuff."

He had to take a deep intake of breath through his nose to prevent himself from speaking too loudly in response to this. "First of all, I don't read it anymore. Not after the couple of weeks you and the girls put me through after you found out."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad."

He scoffed, retorting, "it was for me. But, that's why I didn't think I should tell you girls about me doing gymnastics, especially when I was just starting to discover it."

She shuffled on the couch, allowing her to turn her body towards him a bit more. "Now, hang on a second there, bro. You're comparing a sport to something as sickeningly sweet and pathetic as that glittery mess?"

"Well, yes and no. Yes, because you girls put me through hell for admitting to liking that… but that's not the only thing you girls have mocked me for liking."

"Well, what else is there?" She asked, her voice slightly softer yet still showing that she was curious about what was behind the walls they were breaking down, as he took another drink of his water.

"Well, let's start with my superhero outfit."

"Linc, you threw your underpants on the outside of it-"

"And that made it okay?" She jumped back slightly, both kids whipping their heads over their shoulders to see if his raised voice had caused their parents to stir, before sighing with relief when they realised it hadn't, then looking back at each other. "Lynn, I'm never going to pretend it's a picture perfect match of the actual costume, or even a licensed cosplay outfit, but I did make it myself, and I was pretty proud of it at first. I probably would still be if you and the others hadn't laughed as much."

She couldn't help but feel guilty at this. "Oh… now that I think about it, I guess we were a bit harsh… maybe more than a bit. Still, we don't laugh at your new one, do we?"

"No, you don't, though I still can't help but feel judged whenever I put it on, you know?"

"You really feel like that?" He nodded, making her guilt feel greater. "Geez… how come you never told us about it?"

"Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure… but, it wasn't just the cosplaying."

"Well, what else was there?" He opened his mouth to answer her, then hesitantly shut it again. "Linc… you can tell me. I know you probably don't see me in a great way right now, and I haven't really noticed this before, but… I'm listening now. So, yeah… I wanna hear it."

Seeing the look in her eyes, he sighed, grabbing his glass for another drink before he spoke again. "It just seems like, whenever I find something I like… there's at least one of you, more often than not more than one, who thinks it's stupid. My comic books, my video games, my coin collection, the shows I like… it just makes me think that that's always going to be the case. That's why I didn't tell any of you straight away that I do gymnastics. I was worried it was going to be the same."

"… you thought that about all of us? Even me?"

He looked into her eyes and saw the glimmer of hurt that was behind her gaze, her frown dropping lower than before. "Lynn… the reason I chose to tell you first, is because you're the hardest person it is for me to tell. You do all these sports, pull off amazing feats every game… you've trained me without even knowing what you were training me for… I was worried that you were going to be ashamed of me. It's not exactly football, or hockey, or basketball. Even you admitted that it wasn't really your thing. I was worried, more than anything, that you'd want nothing to do with me. That you'd be _ashamed_ of me." He could feel his emotions building, though he forced himself to swallow them down, not realising that his sister was struggling to do the same thing. "This past week, your training has been some of the most fun I've ever had with you, and even before, I used to enjoy practicing with you some of the time, when it was us working together. I didn't want to lose that… I didn't want… to lose y-"

He didn't get the chance to finish that sentence, before Lynn practically fell towards him pulling her brother into a hug, his body feeling how she was shaking her head as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. He was surprised by the gesture, but it felt more than right, so he pulled her close to him and hugged her back.

"You were never going to lose me, Stinkoln," she told him, getting a weak laugh out of the boy. "I could never do what you did today, what you've been doing for the past month. Partly because I prefer sports where there's an actual score, sure, but mostly because I couldn't be that brave."

Those were the words Lincoln never expected to hear from the sporty Loud's mouth, making him release the hug so he could look her in the eye, their misty eyes meeting instantly. "What do you mean, brave? I couldn't be as brave as you if I wanted to!"

She shook her head, telling her brother, "doing football and basketball and roller derby and all them other sports, I might like to be the star player, and always be number one, but… gymnastics? I could never do that. You need grace to do that, finesse, style… god, I'm starting to sound like Lola." This got another genuine chuckle from her brother, making her smile slightly, though it faded when she added, "those are things I don't have."

"Of course, you have those things," he told her as she wiped her tears away, while he did the same. "How else are you able to pull off those last minute buzzer beaters, or those long distance field kicks, or those other amazing things?"

"Honestly, I just shoot and hope it goes in. I might make it sound a lot more complicated sometimes, but that's all it boils down to- you take your shot, you hope it works."

"Well, gymnastics has kind of turned out to be sort of the same thing- you go for the jump or the twist or whatever, you try to make the landing and hope it sticks. There's other stuff on top of that, but at it's centre, that's what you try to do."

She gave a small scoff. "Yeah, but I wouldn't exactly call kicking people's butts graceful."

He didn't even try to hold back his chuckles at that one, bringing a smile back to the brunette's face. Once he had stopped his laughter, he looked at his older sister and asked, "so… now that you know the truth, and you know why I felt like I couldn't tell you straight away… I guess all that's left for me to say is… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept it from you like I have done, and I don't expect you to forgive me for it, but I hope you can accept my apology. I thought- no. I KNEW you'd be the hardest person to tell, not because I didn't think you'd understand, but because I knew that I had the most to lose with you."

"The most to lose?"

He nodded, adding, "because even though I didn't tell you the truth, we've become so much closer because of it, and if you weren't okay with me doing this, then…. I don't think I could look at it the same."

Lynn could sense the sincerity in his voice, not a single sign making her suggest that he might be lying. She took a moment to collect herself, figuring out exactly what to say now that she knew the whole truth, and then she spoke. "Look, Linc… I'm not gonna lie. It's kind of sucky finding this out. I don't mind that you do gymnastics, because if it gets you exercising AND makes you happy, then you've found the right sport for you." She diverted her gaze in an attempt not to get choked up. "It did hurt when you first told me… kind of made me think that you didn't trust me… though, I guess you were right not to."

"Lynn… that wasn't what I-"

"All this time, I've made you feel like dirt over nothing. Sure, I don't get why you like all that nerd stuff, but I never meant any harm by all of that. I thought it was just a bit of a joke between you and me, bro and sis. I didn't want you to feel like that because of it."

"Lynn-"

"And now, I totally get why you wouldn't tell us! All this time, we've been jerks to you just because of the stuff you like. I'd be lying if I said I don't do it with the others, and they don't do it with me, but… that still doesn't make it okay. I'm sorry, bro."

His hands shaking slightly, he pulled her towards him by her shoulders, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. "No, Lynn. I'm sorry. I do trust you, and I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't. I shouldn't have been so selfish."

She shook her head, pulling him closer as she reciprocated his embrace. "You're not selfish, bro. You were doing what you thought was necessary. I didn't get it at first, but I do now."

"Do you forgive me?"

"Of course I do, Lincoln. I just hope you can forgive me for all that other stuff."

"I don't see why I can't."

She gave a small chuckle, before letting go of the hug. "Thanks, bro. And, hey- for what it's worth, I really am proud of you."

He couldn't help but feel proud at hearing such high praise from 'number one herself'. "Thanks, Lynn."

"And yeah, you don't got to worry. I won't tell the others. I'll let you figure all of that out."

His smile grew a bit more as he nodded, replying with, "I will."

"Good. Now, come on, before mom and dad catch us." He nodded, and the two began to make their way upstairs, but just as Lincoln was about to head towards his room, he felt Lynn grab his arm. "Hey. You wanna crash in mine and Lucy's room tonight?"

"Uh… really?"

"Yeah, it'll be like when we were little." He opened his mouth, but was quickly cut off by her adding, "and no, I'm not gonna snore."

He smirked, quipping, "are you sure about that?" He felt a light punch on his shoulder, making them both chuckle, but he soon after told her, "I wasn't gonna ask about that. I was gonna say, sure."

"Great! Let's go."

So, the two entered the middle bedroom, the older sister crawling into bed first before her brother joined her. After making sure he was covered, he rested his head on the pillow and pulled himself towards Lynn, the sporty girl allowing Lincoln to hold onto her as they both drifted to sleep, knowing that the issues between them were resolved, and that he had taken the first step to telling his sisters the truth.


	39. Ch 39- A New Day Has Begun

**(A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry about this being a shorter chapter, I decided to split it into two. Also, now that the previous chapter is up, I thought I'd take a moment to let you know something about the future of this fic- we are now at the halfway point! Woo! Well, we are in a sense. Honestly, there's three ways of looking at it- timeline, number of chapters, and moments. In terms of timeline, we aren't quite halfway, and I don't think we're at half the number of chapters yet, but last chapter was a pivotal moment in the story, which I am considering the halfway moment. I'm still surprised it's been going this long, but I'm having fun with this, and I'm gonna see it through to the end.**

**Thanks for reading once again, and enjoy!)**

**Chapter 39- A New Day Has Begun**

The sun rose once again in the town of Royal Woods, the rays of sunlight piercing through windows of everyone's houses serving as a wake up call so they could start the day. This was no different in the Loud House, the two parents of eleven being called to duty by the natural light landing on their faces. After letting out their yawns, stretching their muscles and opening their eyes, the married couple of over twenty years looked at each other with slightly sleepy smiling faces.

"Morning, dear," Lynn greeted first.

"Morning, dear," Rita greeted back, before rolling over and looking at her bedside alarm clock. "Looks like we've got ten minutes before we need to make sure the kids are up."

His eyes opening more, Lynn Sr grinned. "You know what that means?"

She rolled her eyes before telling her husband, "go on, you can use the bathroom first before the kids have to." He rapidly pressed his lips against her cheek before dashing out of their bedroom and upstairs to use the house's only bathroom, leaving her to sigh happily. 'Twenty two years, but he still acts the same as the day I met him,' she reminisced, 'and I wouldn't ask differently.' Getting up and out of the bed herself, she remembered what her son had told her the day before. 'I think I'll go see how Lincoln got on yesterday. Better put on some coffee first, though. Lord knows how many of this family need it, especially on a Monday.'

She walked into the kitchen and began to put on a pot of coffee, turning it on before heading upstairs to check on her sole son. Walking to the end of the landing, she knocked on the door of the linen closet turned bedroom and called in, asking, "Lincoln? Can I come in?" When she got no reply, she opened the door and saw that, to her surprise, his room was empty. While slightly concerned, she kept a level head as she thought, 'he spoke with Lynn yesterday. Maybe she knows where he is.' She closed her son's bedroom door, then walked over to the middle door opposite the stairs and knocked on it. "Lynn? Can I come in?" Once again, she received no reply, so she entered, but this time her smile returned in full as she saw the sight of her fifth and sixth eldest children in the same bed, snuggled together. 'Just like when they were younger,' she thought happily. 'I think I'll let them have ten more minutes, just like the others.'

She quietly closed the door before heading back downstairs, not knowing that the small *click* the door made had caused the athlete to start to stir with a groan, lifting her hand to rub her eyes. This motion, in turn, made her brother start to do the same thing, making her look down and remember that she had invited her brother to share the bed with him.

"Morning, bro," she said mid-yawn, stretching her arms as he sat up.

"Morning, Lynn," he groggily replied, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Is it Monday morning already?"

"Well, it ain't Thursday." He gave a small chuckle, which made her smile before she looked over, seeing that her goth younger sister and roommate wasn't out of her coffin bed. "So, we cool after last night?"

"I was gonna ask you that. You forgive me for not telling you the truth?"

"I already did, didn't I? So, yeah, I guess we are cool."

He smiled, giving her a quick hug and telling her, "I'm glad."

"Me too." She waited for him to let go, then added, "and, hey. Everything from last night stays between us."

"Thanks, Lynn."

"I'm serious. I've got a reputation to keep, can't have my teams know I spent last night getting all mushy with you." This got a louder chuckle from her brother, making her feel even more confident that the issue between them was now behind them. "Now, get out of here. Go use the bathroom before the others get up while I change."

"You sure? I don't mind waiting for you to use it."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Now, beat it, Stinkoln." He rolled his eyes, knowing she meant no harm in her words, before getting up and leaving his sisters' room, allowing Lynn to shake her head. 'Even now he's doing sports, he finds a way to be a dork,' she thought to herself, which was quickly followed by, 'did that rhyme? Ugh, I think Lucy's wearing off on me.' Letting our another yawn, she realised that she had to start preparing for the day, so she got up, got undressed and changed into her usual jersey and shorts, then walked over to her bedroom door. When she opened it, however, she let out a loud yelp due to the unexpected sight of Lucy, still clad in her pajamas. Once her heart was back to normal, she narrowed her eyes and said, "I thought you were still in your coffin?"

"Sigh… I got up early to try and beat the bathroom line," the goth explained, her voice stoic as always. "Dad's in there at the moment, and Lincoln is the only one in the queue. I think everyone else is still asleep."

"Yeah, okay, thanks, Lucy. Now, you mind?"

"Sure. Also, I don't know what was up between you and Lincoln, but I'm glad everything's okay between you now."

Lynn has to blink to fully take in what Lucy was saying. "Wait, were you listening to us last night?"

Lucy simply shook her head and told her, "I just saw you two asleep together when I woke up. You looked… peaceful."

"Oh. Well, thanks, I guess. But, yeah, that was between me and Linc, so-" Before she could even finish that sentence, Lucy mimed a zip motion over her lips, assuring the sporty Loud sister that she wasn't going to tell anyone, which made Lynn smirk. "Thanks, spooky."

Lucy nodded, then stepped out of the way so Lynn could leave the bedroom and so she could enter it, the middle schooler heading downstairs where her mother was stood enjoying a cup of coffee. As Lynn approached the fridge, Rita saw her daughter and smiled. "Morning, sweetie," she greeted.

"Hey, mom," Lynn replied, opening the fridge door to grab the carton of orange juice, which felt pretty light. "I think we're out of OJ."

"There should be a new carton at the back."

After a bit of searching, Lynn found that there was indeed an unopened carton, pulling it out with a "got it" before placing it and the empty carton on the counter before shutting the fridge door again.

"I'll remember to pick some more up after work. So, Lynn, what did you think of practice yesterday?"

"It was…" She did a quick check over her shoulder, before looking back at her mother and continuing. "It was surprising, I guess. Don't get me wrong, it was cool that Lincoln let me see all that, and he was enjoying himself, which is what mattered. I just wasn't expecting… that. You know?"

"I know, Lynn, and I'm proud of you for being understanding of all this. I know it was a lot to take in, but I'm glad to know that you're okay with all this now."

"I won't lie, I was a bit upset at first, but I took some time to think about it, and yeah. I can kind of see why Lincoln kept it to himself. Don't know if I would have done the same, but, y'know."

"I know, sweetie. I know." Looking at her watch, Rita sighed and said, "guess I better make sure the rest of your siblings are up," before taking a quick drink of her coffee and walking through the dining room, Lynn being able to hear the familiar, "OKAY, KIDS! FEET ON FLOOR!"

It didn't take long before Lynn heard the rest of her siblings starting to move about upstairs, while her father and brother quickly made their way into the kitchen as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Morning, Junior!" Her father greeted, while her brother simply gave a wave, his other hand typing into his phone.

"Morning, dad. Morning, Link." As she looked over at her brother, she saw him typing and smirked. "Since when did you get attached to your phone?"

With a roll of his eyes, he told her, "I'm not. Jordan just wanted to know how everything went yesterday." This only made his sister smirk more, putting him straight on the defensive. "Don't even say it."

"Say what?"

"You know what."

"I was only going to say that you and Jordan have been acting… 'closer'."

"I know where you're going with this, and I'm telling you, we're just friends."

In response, she merely raised an eyebrow and asked, "you sure about that?"

With an exasperated groan, he slipped his phone into his pocket. "Remember yesterday, when you didn't make any of these kinds of jokes and actually called her my friend? Why couldn't that be one of the changes that stuck?"

She quickly pulled him towards her in a side headlock and gave him a 'gentle'- or at least, Lynn's version of gentle- noogie. "Can't have everything change, Linc. Gotta have some things stay the same, or we won't know what's changed." Though he pouted at the noogie, he did laugh a bit as he pushed her off, fixing the mess that she had made of his hair. "Speaking of change, I'm gonna do a bit of research at recess- would do it at lunch, but I've got soccer practice, and lunch is when all the literature nerds raid the place."

"What do you mean, research?"

"I'm gonna see if I can figure out a better workout for you. Now that I know the truth, I can come up with something better for your specific needs."

"Lynn, you don't have to do that."

"Nah, it's cool. Besides, now I know what you do at practice, I can help you out more."

His lips curled upwards just that little bit more. "Thanks, Lynn."

"Ah, c'mon, don't get mushy on me. Besides, dad's about to cry."

"Am not!" Their father quickly refuted, though his choky voice gave away that he clearly was, making both kids laugh together once more.

* * *

When recess came around at Royal Woods Middle school, Lynn felt relieved. Her classes felt like they were a drag, especially since she didn't have PE until Wednesday, and she had double Chemistry. She didn't hate the subject itself, but it was boring, and only made worse by the fact that she had Dr Jensen, an elderly grey-haired man in a tweed suit, who was known among the students as 'Doctor Snoozen', since not one student could claim to have never fallen asleep in his lectures- even the students who were actually interested in chemistry struggled to keep awake during his long, drab, tiresome explanations on the chemical properties of the different elements… in fact, Lynn was struggling to keep awake just thinking about it, but she shook her head. 'Gotta try and snag a computer,' she reminded herself.

"Alright, that concludes this lesson," Dr Jensen declared, the sexagenarian stretching each word longer than was thought to be humanly possible. "Ensure your assignments are on my desk by Thursday, signed at the bottom. Class dismissed."

Lynn practically leapt out of her chair and into the hallway, where she saw two of her closest friends and teammates, Paula and Margo. "There you are, Lynn," Margo greeted. "Finally got released from Dr Snoozen's lab?"

"Ugh, tell me about it!" The Loud girl replied. "It's always a nightmare in those classes."

"Hey, we're gonna go see if the basketball courts are clear," Paula spoke up, using her crutch to point the way. "You coming?"

"Can't. As much as I'd love to, I gotta go hit the library." She could see the surprised looks on their faces, and before they replied, she added, "yeah, I know, not like me. I'm doing a bit of research for my little bro, trying to help him get in better shape. Anyway, I better go before the computer's get swiped. I'll catch you later, girls."

Before she could even hear them reply, she was off, the yell of "NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS" slowing her run to a brisk walk. Though the two different years at the middle school had different times for lunch and recess, the corridors were still pretty packed, since those that weren't headed for recess were headed for their next classes instead, so Lynn had to keep making her way past the different students heading in different directions. When she saw an opening, Lynn practically lunged forward enough to get to the door to the library, the door closing with an echoing thud behind her which made a few students momentarily lift their heads and look at her. Lynn, however, didn't care, making her way towards the computer lab at the back, where there were fortunately a few computers spare.

"Alright," she said as she sat down at the computer, keeping her voice low, "let's see what we can find, eh?" She entered her login details, then sat and waited as the computer started to load. The computers weren't ancient, but they were hardly new models, so this took a good minute, which the Loud girl mostly spent spinning in her swivel chair, until the homepage popped up. She opened up a web browser and began her research, thankful that the desk holding the computer came with a small barrier that prevented others from looking at her screen, because if someone found out what she was up to, she would have two potential issues to deal with- mockery for doing a 'girly sport', and her brother's secret possibly being revealed by accident. 'Not on my watch,' she thought as the tab showed her the search results. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pen and a notepad which, despite it being November, was practically unused. 'Okay, then. What have we got here?'


	40. Ch 40- A New Exercise Experience

**(A/N: Hey, guys, quick apology. I know I've already mentioned that I'm back at Uni, so sorry for this being late. As much as I enjoy writing and want to keep making regular uploads, I'm not sure how much I can keep up a regular upload schedule for the next few months, so… no promises anymore. I'll do what I can, but no guarantees.**

**Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

For Lincoln, the school day seemed to just fade away- his classes weren't exciting but they didn't drag on at all, he had chatted with his friends at break and sat with the girls and Artie at lunch again, and though they were quick to ask him about what he told Lynn, it didn't feel any different to any other day. Even as the final bell of the day rang, and he began to pack his things up, the day felt the same as any other. It wasn't a bad thing, by any means- just, ironically, different to usual. As he walked over to his locker and began to sort his things out, he heard the locker next to his shut.

"Hey, Lincoln," Clyde spoke, the white haired child closing the door to face him. "We're gonna head by Gus' on our way home. Apparently, they just got the new Eradicator machines set up!"

"No way! The ones based on the new movie?"

"You betcha! So, what do you say? You in?"

"Sorry, buddy, but I have to head home. Lynn wants to help me workout."

Clyde nodded, Lincoln having told him about how the sporty Loud sister now knew the truth about his extra curricular activity. "Okay. We'll let you know how it is. Hopefully, it's not as bad as the Exydus ones."

Both boys shuddered at the memories of that film. "I hear you. Well, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." They both waved as they went their separate ways, with Lincoln heading to the front entrance, stepping outside to see that his younger sisters (sans Lily) were stood waiting for Vanzilla to turn up. "Any message from Lori?"

"Afraid not, elder fraternal relative," Lisa explained, wiping the smudge off of her glasses. "Our eldest sororal sibling's current unexpected tardiness is-"

"She's just running late," Lucy explained in quicker fashion, irking the four year old PhD slightly.

"Precisely…"

"Don't worry, girls, I'm sure she'll be here soon," Lincoln assured.

"She'd better be," Lana grumbled, which made Lola roll her eyes.

"Ignore her," Lola insisted. "She's just a little mad about what happened in class earlier."

Lana slapped her on the shoulder, blushing furiously. "Shut up!"

Lincoln could see the fire in their eyes as they glared at each other, so he quickly stepped between them before a fight could break out. "Girls, calm down!" He quickly told them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders to keep them apart. "Now, Lola, you know that wasn't fair. If something happened in class, then Lana doesn't have to talk about it, and you shouldn't talk about it if she doesn't want you to. Okay?"

The pageant princess rolled her eyes, spitting out a "Whatever" as she returned her gaze to watching for Lori to show up.

"Thanks, bro," Lana told her brother, who smiled back at her.

"It's okay, Lana," he replied, before looking up and seeing Vanzilla draw near. "They're here."

Eventually, the relic of a van pulled up in front of them, with Lori rolling down the window. "Sorry about that, traffic was literally a nightmare for some reason," she explained. "Anywho, get in. I've got a video call with Bobby later, and I'm not going to be late for it."

"Then maybe don't be late here," Lana whispered to her brother, who chuckled back.

"C'mon, let's just go home."

After letting his sisters get in first, Lincoln climbed into Vanzilla, sitting next to Lynn and strapping himself in. Once she was certain everyone was secure and the doors were closed, Lori began to drive on home, the rest of the sisters doing their own things to pass the time. After a moment, Lynn nudged her brother to get his attention.

"So, bro, I got some research done," she explained to him. "I'll be honest, most of it was all of the sciencey stuff to it, which I had to skim past or I was gonna fall asleep."

Lincoln once again found himself chuckling. "Why am I not surprised?"

She lightly pushed him on his shoulder, reminding him, "Hey, I'm doing this to help you, remember?" He held up his hands in defence, allowing her to continue. "Anyway, once I got past all of that stuff, I managed to find the important stuff, and I've managed to come up with a new workout schedule for you. Fortunately, my practices are either during lunch, on the weekend or when you have practice, so I'm gonna be coaching you through it."

"Well, I appreciate it, Lynn. It means a lot to me."

"Ah, don't get all mushy on me." He rolled his eyes, but she continued before he could say anything about it. "So, we're gonna do the regular workout on Wednesdays, and do our parkour runs on Fridays. Today, though, we're gonna do something different." She anticipated what he was going to say the second his mouth opened, so she quickly added, "soon as we get home, get some workout gear on, and I'll tell you what it is. Just know we're gonna need the TV for it, and I've reserved it for after dinner."

"What?!" They heard Lola yell from the backseats of Vanzilla. "But my prison pageant season premiere is on!"

"Sorry, Loles, but I got dibs on it."

"But, that's not fair!"

"Lola, we can DVR it for you, if you like," Lincoln offered, but when he turned around in his seat, he saw she was pouting. Having known her for her whole life, however, he knew the trick. "And, if it helps, I'll be your butler for your tea party next Saturday."

"… Okay, deal," she accepted, a smile returning to her face.

"You know you're probably going to regret that later," Lynn told him, to which he shrugged.

"Maybe, but I'd rather regret it later than deal with an argument now."

"Touché."

* * *

After the 'eventful as always' ride back home, the Loud siblings all went off to do their own things, making the Loud House live up to its reputation, with the usual sounds of rock music, sibling arguments, laughter and a minor explosion filling the air, until it was time for dinner. Everyone gathered in the dining room and sat down to be served their weekly helping of meatballs, which they happily ate whilst talking amongst each other about things such as school, plans they have made with their friends for the weekend, and their usual activities, with Leni reminding Lincoln about how they will be heading to Jordan's house on Wednesday to continue work for her fashion show. Of course, this led to a couple of his sisters making jokes about him and Jordan becoming an item at the show, but the presence of their parents made most of them keep quiet about it, which he was thankful for.

Once everyone had finished their food and their parents allowed them to leave the table, they resumed with their usual activities. The only exception to this was Lincoln, who instead went into his room and traded his regular clothes for a tank top and some shorts. 'Time to go see what Lynn has in store for me,' he pondered. Heading out of his room, he dodged his sisters on the landing and made his way downstairs, where he saw Lynn in the living room, moving the couch to the back of the room. The coffee table had been moved to one side, and two mats were laid out facing the TV screen. As he reached the bottom step, she looked and saw him, and smiled.

"About time!" She joked, making him roll his eyes. "What took you so long?"

"Lynn, I was gone for two minutes," he argued. "If anything, I should be surprised it took you two minutes to move the coffee table and the couch."

"Pffft! That only took ten seconds. I was waiting for mom to get the DVD for me."

He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "DVD?"

"You'll see. Anyway, get on one of the mats." Knowing better than to question her, he obliged, walking over to the mat on the right, while his sister walked over to the TV stand, where she picked up a case and took the DVD out, before putting it in the DVD player. As it began to load, she grabbed the remote and walked over to the other mat. "So, gonna be honest- I'm about as new to this as you, bro."

"You are?"

"Yep. So, yeah, this could go one of two ways, but I'm gonna give it a go."

"So, what are we-" he stopped himself when he saw that, on the TV, the screen showed the main menu for a yoga workout, with a woman in a tank top and yoga pants sat in the lotus position, bringing a blush to his face. "Bah… bah… bah… bah…"

Hearing her brother make these noises made Lynn look back and forth between him and the screen, a grin coming to her face as she realised what was causing it. "You want me to leave you two alone?" She joked, making him blush even more and look away from her. "I hate to see what you'd be like when puberty hits, Stinkoln."

"Don't even remind me."

She sniggered, before telling him, "well, better get your head in the game. If you need to focus, just imagine it's your teacher or something. I dunno, whatever gets your mind out of the gutter." He rolled his eyes at her crude attempt at a joke. "Anyway, let's just start this and see how we do."

She pressed select on the remote, which started the video. After Lynn put the remote back on the coffee table and returned to the mat, the woman in yoga pants had walked into a yoga studio. "Hello, and welcome to this introductory yoga video. I'm Kathleen, and I'll be your instructor today."

'Dang it, why did she have to sound like a goddess?' Lincoln mentally groaned. 'Okay, relax, Lincoln. Just follow her instructions.'

"Now, most people know that yoga is a good way to improve flexibility, but it has many other benefits. It can help to strengthen and tone your muscles, increase your vitality, help you to prevent injury and give you an all round improved athletic ability. It can also help you with breathing, which is important in any aspect of life, so that's how I like to start every session I do. Start by sitting in the lotus position." The two siblings followed the instructor, sitting down on their mats with legs crossed. As she led them through the opening breathing exercises, she led them through a series of stretches to warm them up for the coming poses. The minute or so during which this transpired led to Lincoln and, to an extent, Lynn becoming quite relaxed, feeling at peace as they breathed deeply and rhythmically. Eventually, Kathleen spoke once more, ending the warm up. "Okay. Now that we're ready begin, let's get to our hands and knees, and we'll start with the pose that most people think of when they think of yoga- the downward facing dog."

"Heh. This really is for beginners," Lynn boasted, which made Lincoln inwardly chuckle.

'She's gonna regret that,' he thought to himself.

"Start by making sure your hands are beneath your shoulders, and your knees are beneath your hips. Breathe in… and out. Now, curling your toes and pushing back through your hands, lift your hips up into the air." They both followed the instruction of the woman on screen, lifting themselves up so their bodies made upside down V shapes. "Make sure that the weight is going into your legs. Now, again, breathe in… and out…" As he breathed, Lincoln's eyes glanced over to Lynn, who seemed slightly shaky, just like he was, but he didn't say anything in case he tripped. "Next, try bending one knee, then switch to the other. Breathe in each time you bend a knee, and breathe out when you extend it, like so." Lincoln struggled a little, but was able to bend his knee towards his chest, breathing in as it bent and breathing out as he extended it, then repeating with the other leg. Lynn, though she was boastful before, found herself struggling in the same way as her brother, her straight leg shaking when she blended her other leg. After a few bends and extensions with each knee, the instructor spoke once more. "Now, to finish this pose off, we're gonna breathe in as we go to our toes, then as we exhale, push through your hands and bring both knees towards your chest."

The two Louds followed her instruction, bringing their knees up and towards their chests, doing their best to maintain their breathing as they held the pose. For a moment, they were okay, until Lincoln's hand slipped, making him collapse on the floor. While Lynn chuckled at first, her hand did the same thing, making her collapse right next to him. Looking at each other for a few seconds, they didn't say anything until they started laughing louder together, flat on their backs in near hysterics about their mishap.

"Well, I dunno about you, bro," Lynn said between laughter, "but I don't think that's why they call it the downward dog!"

He laughed in response as he got to a seated position, before telling her, "that sounds like something Luan would say." While she rolled her eyes, he got to his feet, then extended his hand to her. "Need a hand?"

She scoffed, before proceeding to place her hands behind her head, lift her feet up, and kip-up to her feet, catching him off guard. "That answer your question?"

After a second, he smirked and told her, "remind me to ask you to teach me that."

"Sure thing, Link. First, though, more yoga."

* * *

After getting back on their mats, the two Louds watched as Kathleen took them through a few more poses in a step by step manner, and while they still struggled a bit with some of the poses, they managed to get through the workout, and after the instructor led them through some final breathing exercises and stretches, they just sat on their mats for a few seconds, smiling.

"Well, that could have gone better," Lynn finally admitted, shaking her arms a little. "Still, not a bad first session, eh, bro?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'll be honest, that was tougher than I was expecting, and if that's a beginners routine, I'd hate to see what a regular session looks like."

Lynn couldn't help but chuckle at his comment. "Yeah, that's only because it's your first session, mine too. Give it a few weeks or so, you'll get the hang of it."

He smiled and told her, "thanks, Lynn. I appreciate you doing this with me. It's been pretty fun."

"Ah, come here." She pulled her brother into a side hug, which he happily returned. "Now, come on. Let's go grab a protein shake." His face changed to one of mild disgust. "Ah, they're not that bad. Just think of it like a milkshake."

"Yeah, but milkshakes actually taste nice."

"Okay, three things. First, you can eat a PB and J with sauerkraut, yet you think _this_ is disgusting?" He shrugged, to which she shook her head. "Second of all, if you want it to taste nice, you've gotta experiment a bit. Try bananas and blueberries, or something like that, and add a little bit of chocolate. Besides, feel glad I'm not making you drink kale and fish oil." She shuddered, remembering the taste. "Now, _that _was disgusting."

"Yeah, you've got a point there. Let's just get this over with." She chuckled again, leading her brother into the kitchen, where she found a couple of glasses and put them next to the blender. After pouring in some protein powder, she chose to add some strawberries and bananas, then added the milk and mixed it all together, before pouring it into the glasses. They each grabbed a glass and held it up. "Cheers, Lynn."

"Cheers, bro."

**CLINK!**


	41. Ch 41- Looking Good

The bell rang once more, and the students in the sixth grade felt relief wash over them, knowing that the final class of the day was over. "Okay, everyone!" Mrs Johnson declared, although some of the students had already began packing their things away. "Reminder that your book reports are due tomorrow. They must be two pages long, and must cover the questions set. Class dismissed."

Those that were still listening to their teacher got up from their seats and began to head into the corridor, eager to head home and enjoy what was left of the day. Lincoln, however, felt less of a rush to leave, knowing that he would be heading with Jordan to her house so they could prepare for the fashion show that weekend. As he entered the congested corridors, he happened to spot the girl in question's blue bow, so he made his way through the crowd of kids of similar and younger ages, until he finally found the girl with the braided ponytail.

"Hey," he greeted, getting her to look at him and smile.

"Hey, Lincoln," she greeted back. "So, my mom told me she was working late today, so apparently I'm getting a ride home with you guys?"

He gave a small chuckle, before telling her, "well, then, it's a good thing that Lori's driving us today, because I don't think we'd all fit if mom was driving us."

She gave a small giggle. "Yeah, I remember how big your family ride is. Honestly, I'm surprised it fits the eleven of you, let alone your mom and dad too."

"I know what you mean. Still, all I can suggest is sit next to either Jen, Leni or me and you should be fine."

She rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like the rest of your sisters are-"

"Right behind you," Lincoln interrupted, getting her to turn and see that Lucy, the twins and Lisa were all stood waiting behind her, the self-professed princess of the Loud family wearing a slightly mischievous grin. "Were you listening in on us?"

"Only for about ten seconds," Lola quickly replied, making him roll his eyes back and groan. "It's nice to see you again, Jordan."

"It's nice to see you too, Lola," she replied. "How are your pageants going?"

Ignoring the muttered "oh, brother" of her twin, Lola happily smiled and told her, "it's been going wonderfully, thank you. Thanks to Linky coaching me again for the Halloween pageant, my record is looking as strong as ever."

"Glad to hear it."

"As good as this is," Lucy interrupted, "we should get going. Lori tends to be quite irritable if we keep her waiting."

"You're right, Luce," Lincoln agreed. "Let's go and meet them."

As they turned around and headed towards the entrance, Jordan turned to Lola once more. "So, can I ask you for some advice? My sister convinced me to model for her fashion show, and I don't really know how to model."

With a "pfft" and a wave of her hand, Lola replied, "trust me, Jordan, modelling is easy as long as you have the right outfit. All you need to do is-" she stopped when Lana pulled her back slightly. "What? Can't you see that we're-" When Lana whispered into her ear, her peeved expression turned into a knowing one. "Oh! I hear you!" She then promptly turned back to Jordan, who was still waiting for an answer. "My apologies. As I was saying, all you need to do is find someone to coach you."

"I wonder who that could be," Lincoln muttered, seeing through his sisters' tricks.

"Fortunately, Linky has been a splendid coach for me, and I have full trust that he can help you there. If he can help Lana win a pageant, he can help you."

"Shut up!" Lana curtly yelled, slapping her sister on the shoulder while she blushed. "You didn't need to tell her that!"

"Well, I thought it would give her confidence!"

With her arms crossed and her lips pouting, Lana mumbled, "you still didn't have to tell her."

Jordan could see the somewhat upset look on the grease monkey's face, and couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her. "Hey, don't be sad, Lana," she told her. "It sounds like you did really well in that pageant. Better than I did in mine, for sure."

Both Lana and Lola looked at her with surprise, as did their brother. "You were in a pageant?"

She nodded, gripping slightly tighter onto her backpack strap. "It was when I was about seven, and… let's just say it didn't go so well. I only did the one, and it didn't feel right for me."

Lola gave an understanding nod, patting the older girl on her back. "It isn't for everyone. It can be quite a tough competition, and you have to adapt to the lifestyle."

"I can imagine."

As they stepped out through the entrance, Jordan saw the familiar Loud family van parked out front, her sister sat next to one of the windows. Whilst Jordan jogged ahead, Lincoln stopped his twin sisters before they could go further, giving them a stern glare. "I know what you're doing," he told them, a certain authoritative tone in his voice. "I'm going to ask you now, before we get in the van, to not say things like that to her again."

Lana and Lola both rolled their eyes at their older brother. "Chill out, Lincoln," Lana responded.

"No, Lana! I've asked you both, and the others, to lay off on those jokes, especially around her!"

"But-"

"No buts, Lola! I'm trying to reason with you here, but you leave me no choice! Either you lay off, or I will tell mom about what happened on your last Bluebell Scouts trip." The two girls gulped, looking nervously, before giving their brother a nod and a "sorry, Lincoln" each. "That's better. Now, come on, we better not keep Lori waiting."

* * *

Fortunately for Lincoln, the twins behaved after that, keeping mostly to themselves for the majority of the drive towards Jordan's house. Of course, this didn't stop the others from talking with Jordan at all, but again, the white haired child was fortunate that they didn't make any kinds of jokes or implications regarding his friendship with her, and Jordan's sister kept some of the older girls more occupied during the travel, until eventually they reached the destination. After waving off the other nine Loud sisters, Lincoln and Leni followed the Rosato girls into the house, where Lincoln was surprised by how eagerly Ajax was to see him.

"Hey there, buddy," Lincoln greeted the pooch, scratching behind its ear as it tried to jump up to lick his face. "Someone seems happy to see me."

"I told you last time, Ajax is really a sweetie when he gets to know you," Jordan reminded him, then turned her attention to the dog. "Okay, Ajax, come here. We'll play later, okay?" Though the dog wasn't too happy about having to leave his newest friend alone, he obliged, walking over and sitting down next to her. "Good boy."

"Okay, so me and Leni need to make a few amendments to some of our other ensembles first," Jen explained to the two younger kids. "We'll come down when we're ready to continue working on your outfits, so for now, why don't you two just relax or whatever for a bit?"

"Actually, Lincoln said he was going to help me figure out how to walk the catwalk, so I think we'll do that for now."

Jen raised her eyebrows, her gaze darting over to the boy smiling sheepishly before giving him a smirk. "Is that so? Well, in that case, me and Leni will let our models get to it."

"Be back in a bit, Linky!" Leni called out as she followed her friend upstairs, leaving the two sixth graders alone.

"So, what's first?" Jordan asked, making him turn to her with a fake annoyed expression.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He quipped, his voice not showing any sense of irritation, which made her stifle laughter.

"I'm sorry, but you've got to admit. There's not a lot of boys our age who would be able to teach someone how to model."

"Yeah, I know, but it's only because I've coached Lola for her pageants, and the first part of a pageant is basically modelling."

"I see. So, what's the first step?"

"Well, first, we need some music. Something with a clear beat is usually what's played for this sort of thing."

"I think I can find something like that. Give me a second, okay?" He gave a nod and watched as she walked over to the cabinet beneath the tv, looking through a selection of CDs. "My sister still gets CDs for most of her music. I get why she does that, but I just find it easier to have it downloaded, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I hear you. My sister Luna is the same, she'll always buy the latest Mick Swagger CD when it comes out, then get it on download too. Pretty sure she also has some vinyl records with his music, but I've never heard her play it."

"Probably a collectible thing." Eventually, Jordan found a good choice of music, so she quickly put it into the CD player connected to the speakers, grabbed the remote and pressed play. "How's this?"

Lincoln listened on as what sounded to be a nineties club hit played, making him nod slightly to the beat. "Yeah, that works. Alright, let's start. First thing's first, just try walking."

She squinted slightly, confused. "Just… walking? Like, in a straight line, or…"

"Just trust me, okay?" With a roll of her eyes, she gave him a nod, then walked over to him. "Alright. Now, just walk past the couch, stop at the wall, then walk back to me."

"Yes, sir!" She replied, giving a salute like a soldier would to their captain, making Lincoln chuckle. After a couple of seconds, he watched her walk forward to the end of the room, turn around and walk right back until she was right in front of him. "So?"

"It's not bad, you've definitely got the fundamentals of walking down."

She scoffed, pushing him slightly on the shoulder. "You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

He couldn't help but chuckle as he told her, "a little bit. Seriously, though, it's not that different from walking in a straight line. It's mainly just… conditioning, I guess."

"Conditioning?"

"Yeah. Like, you've got good posture, and your expression is right, but instead of just walking normally, you should try go heel to toe, and take bigger steps. Watch." She stepped aside and watched on as Lincoln began to walk the imaginary catwalk, his feet landing one in front of the other in time with the beat of the music, making his hips sway slightly as he walked. "Also, see how I'm not trying to move my arms. Instead, they're hanging down and swaying naturally."

As he turned around, he saw the bemused expression on her face as she asked, "how is it you know all of this?"

"I got a couple of books on this stuff when I started training Lola for pageants, and like she mentioned earlier, I've had to help Lana for a pageant before."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect you've done a pageant before." While she had been joking, when he stopped walking, the look of mild nervousness on his face made her suspicious. "Wait… have you?"

A small blush appeared on his face, his eyes darting towards his feet as he rubbed the back of his arm. "Uh… I'd rather not talk about it, but… sort of?"

"Really?! Wow! Can't say I'm not surprised by that!"

"It's not exactly something I'm proud of. I actually regret doing it. It was just… well…"

Seeing how uncomfortable he looked talking about this, she put a hand on his shoulder getting him to look up and see that she had a small smile on her face. "Hey. It's okay. If you don't want to talk about this, we don't have to."

He couldn't help but smile, appreciating her understanding his reservations on this subject. "Thanks, Jordan."

She waved it off, saying, "no big deal. So, coach, what's next for my modelling lesson?"

He gave a small chuckle, before replying, "well, let's see how you do on a different song first." As if on cue, the track changed, and a song with a slightly faster beat started to play. "Alright, let's see how you do on this song."

"Okay. Stand back, and let the student try again." He gave another small laugh as he obliged, stepping aside as she eyed the path ahead of her, hearing the music for a second before taking off. This time, her steps were matching Lincoln's, one foot in front of the other with more distance between her strides. Her gaze remained straight ahead, her expression stayed neutral and her posture kept straight, with her arms naturally by her sides. She stopped at the end, then turned around and walked back towards Lincoln in the same fashion, stopping just in front of him. "So," she asked, placing a hand on her hip, "how was that?"

He gave a smile, giving a slow clap as he told her, "very good. Good spacing between your steps, good posture, good expression- I didn't even have to tell you to walk in time with the beat."

With a bit of a grin, she argued, "I did kind of figure." He held his hands up, admitting her point. "So, what's next?"

"Well, in terms of walking, that's mostly it. Now, depending on how our sisters have organised this, it might be a case of there being two models on the runway at one time, which I think is what tends to be the case? Anyway, when it comes to turning, you turn on your left foot if you're going to walk on the right side, and vice versa. Other than that, there's nothing else to really say about the walk."

"So, is that everything there is to modelling, then?"

"Not quite." She saw how his eyes showed just a little bit of glee, making her raise an eyebrow. "There's one other thing to cover, and it's the fun part."

"And what's that?"

* * *

While they were practicing downstairs, Leni and Jen were going over some of the amendments to the other outfits, since Lincoln's outfit was still at Leni's house, and Jordan's was more or less complete, apart from maybe a bit of tailoring. "So, I think this is looking about right," Leni said, getting Jen to look at her handiwork on the Henley shirt.

"Yeah, I think that looks good," Jen replied. "I really like that little sigil you've sewn into it, too."

Leni beamed with pride at the praise. "Thanks! It was pretty simple, but it looks so cute!"

"It really is!" The girls tittered a bit, before Jen grabbed a sheet of paper from her desk. "So, let's check the list. Design? Check. Hire models? Check. Manufacture the outfits?"

"I've always hated that word. Why can't we just say we made the clothes?"

Jen couldn't help feeling amused by her friend's 'Leni-ism', before continuing. "Check. Organise running order? Check. Choose music? Check. All that's left for us is to do any last minute tailoring on the day, and then we're all set!"

"Yay!" As Leni gave a small clap, she heard her phone go off, making her pick it up to see what message she had received. "Ooh, good thing, too. Mom just texted, she needs me to get Linky home, so she and dad can go to a meeting with her boss."

"Oh, really? I guess that's fair. Still, I bet the kids are having fun downstairs. What do you think they've been up to down there?"

"Oh, Linky is, like, totes great at coaching Lola for her pageants, and she's such a good model, so I bet he's teaching Jordan what he taught Lola to do."

"That explains the music we were hearing it. But, yeah, we should probably let them know you need to go." Leni nodded, before following her friend out of the bedroom and towards the staircase. As they headed downstairs, however, Jen stopped halfway down, turning to Leni with a grin and telling her, "you've got to see this!"

Though initially confused, Leni's grin matched her friends when they headed further down and were able to see their younger siblings stood next to the couch, taking it in turn to pose like they were at the end of the catwalk. They were taking it in turns, switching from simple stances, to superhero poses, to goofy ones, until eventually the two of them pretty much burst out laughing, hands on their knees as the guffaws poured out of them.

"Okay," Lincoln said as he started to calm down, wiping a tear of way, "I think… I think you've got the hang of it."

"Are you sure?" she questioned, still giggling a bit. "Because… if I do poses like that up there, I'm pretty sure… I'm pretty sure I'm gonna ruin the whole show."

"I dunno about the whole show," Jen interrupted, alerting them to their presence, her arms crossed with a sly grin on her face. "Maybe our part of the show, but not all of it."

Though both younger kids blushed a bit by the sudden intrusion, Lincoln was quick to explain, "don't worry, I showed her how to pose properly. This stuff was just… you know, for fun."

Jen couldn't help but chuckle as she walked over to the white haired boy, ruffling his hair. "Relax, Link, I'm messing with ya."

"Please don't do that." He swiped her hand away so he could fix his hair, much to the amusement of the three girls. "So, how is everything looking?"

"It's going so well!" Leni eagerly told him. "Everything's pretty much ready, though we may need to make a few alterations on the day just to be certain, but other than that, we are good to go!"

"That sounds great, Leni!" Jordan commended. "Guess you two pretty much have this all sorted."

"Hey, it's not our first show! Give us a little credit, sis," Jen argued, only for Jordan to roll her eyes at her big sister.

"I wish we could stay and do some more work," Leni pointed out. "I really want to see what Linky's taught you, Jordan! But, my mom said she needs me and Linky to get back home so she can go to a meeting, so we need to be going."

"Don't worry, Leni, we can see what they've been up to at the show on Saturday."

"She's right," Lincoln agreed, to which Leni nodded, before he turned to face Jordan. "So, guess I'll see you then?"

"Lincoln, we still have school tomorrow," she reminded him, making him pinch his eyes shut.

"Well, now I feel stupid." The others giggled at his minor mishap, but he didn't stay down about it. "Okay, I'll see you _tomorrow _then."

"See you tomorrow, Lincoln." The two shared a high five whilst Leni said her goodbyes with Jen, the two elder girls sharing a hug before Leni led her brother out of the front door. With a smile on her face, Jordan turned to head to her room, only to be met with the grin of her older sister. "What?"

"You two seemed to be having fun," Jen promptly teased. "Getting close yet?"

With a groan, Jordan simply said "whatever" in response, before heading upstairs to get her homework done. Jen, rather than stop her, simply smirked.

'Sometimes, it's fun being the big sis.'


	42. Ch 42- What's Good For The Sister

**(A/N: Geez, I'm getting bad at uploads. Sorry again about this, guys, Uni is being a B to the itch at the moment. Should've expected this, given it's the final year and all. Still, I'm doing my best to bring you new chapters, writing whenever I have the energy and inspiration to. Hopefully, once Christmas break comes or I finish my other story, I'll be able to get back to normal or something.**

**Thank you all for reading once again, and enjoy!)**

It didn't take long for Lincoln to get home from Jordan's house, the sixth grader listening as Leni told her brother about her plans for the fashion show, and how everything looked to be going according to them. While he wasn't exactly thrilled for what was to come that weekend, he could see how happy Leni was, and if helping her with it made her happy, then he wasn't going to say no to her. Once they returned back home, she told him that he would need to try on his outfit for her before Saturday, but that it would wait until the night before, so she left him to do his own thing while she continued preparations. As she made her way upstairs, Lynn passed her heading downstairs, where she saw Lincoln and smirked.

"There you are, Stinkoln!" She teased. "What, couldn't get away from your girlfriend's house?"

"Friend, not girlfriend," he swiftly reminded her, before adding, "but, yeah, I was helping her get ready for Leni's fashion show this weekend."

"Relax, Linc, I'm just teasing. So, Lori won't be ordering pizza for a while, which means that we've got plenty of time for a workout, and THAT means I can finally try out this new workout I've planned for you."

Giving a shrug, he smiled back at her. "Sure, I can do my homework later. We starting now?"

"Eager to get started, I like it. Come on, let's head downstairs." She led the way through the dining room and the kitchen, then down the stairs that led to the basement. Looking around as he followed her, Lincoln could only see her usual exercise equipment, and nothing particularly new. "So, what are we going to be doing?"

"Well, little bro, allow Coach Lynn to explain."

He rolled his eyes at her statement. "I told you, I'm not calling you Coach Lynn."

"Well, I'm still your coach, so just shut up and listen." With another eye roll, he nodded, coming to a stop as she turned around to face him, both now by her workout bench. "Alright. So, like I said, I did a bit of research on Monday about what kind of workout I should guide you through, and what areas we need to be looking at. Fortunately, it wasn't all that different to what we were doing when I thought you were doing dodgeball, so I was able to build this workout off of that. The main differences are we need to be working on your whole body rather than just your arms, so that you've got enough muscle strength to do the right lifts and stuff, and we need to train your core more." She patted her midsection as a way of showing him, "get it strong like mine is."

"Okay, narcissism aside, that sounds simple enough, though shouldn't I probably put on some better clothes for it?"

"Good thinking, Link. Alright, you've got three minutes to head upstairs, get changed and get your butt back down here. If you're not back in three minutes, I'll make you do laps of the house. Ready? Go!" The white-haired child took no time in obliging, pretty much sprinting back up the stairs, much to his next oldest sister's amusement. 'Works every time,' she thought, her hand reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. 'Now, then, let's see what my bro's gonna be doing today.'

Once he had returned to the basement, now in a grey tank top and red shorts- one of a few of this ensemble that he had purchased the previous weekend (per Lynn's insistence) during the most recent trip he had taken with his sisters to the Royal Woods Mall, thankful that Leni allowed him to use her staff discount and that they were on sale- Lynn wasted no time in putting her brother through the workout, starting with some basic warm up stuff like star jumps, jogging on the spot and the likes, then through some stretches before deciding they were ready for the main body of the session.

Lynn started off the workout by focusing on their cores, testing her brother by having him plank in different positions, as well as perform sit ups, boats and dead bugs. This was followed by strength exercises for their arms and legs, with Lynn introducing Lincoln to a few exercise, including one that was a combination of a squat and bicep curls with weights- her claim being that by doing both at once, it would mean that he 'never had to skip leg day'. While Lincoln wasn't a particular fan of the rather intense exercise, he trusted his sister's judgment and followed her lead. She even catered it to gymnastics a little bit by having him do a wall assisted handstand, and though he occasionally had to fall back into the wall to prevent himself from landing on his back, he could definitely feel where it was helping him (even if it didn't feel particularly 'helpful').

Lynn would then allow Lincoln a small water break, during which Lori informed them that they would soon be ordering pizza, before transitioning their focus towards conditioning, and since neither of them wanted to miss out on pizza, Lynn picked up the pace for them, leading her brother through a series of push ups, squats, hip lifts, V-ups and chin ups on the chin up bar, which left the white haired child- and his older sister, though to a much lesser extent- panting for air and sweating profusely. Once they were done, however, Lynn slowed things back down so they could stretch off, bringing their Wednesday workout to an end.

"Alright, bro," Lynn told her brother, having both returned to the kitchen for a protein shake. "Gotta admit, wasn't expecting you to do so good, but you surprised me. That was a pretty intense workout I just put you through, and you kept up pretty good."

A smile cracking on his red, sweaty face, he replied, "thanks, Lynn. You're a good coach. Have you thought about coaching during your off seasons?"

As she put the lid on the blender, she couldn't help but smirk at him. "Link, I don't _have _an off season." The boy couldn't help but chuckle, his older sister joining in on the laughter. "Still, that's not a bad idea. Keeps me active, plus I could get a bit of green while doing it." While she started speaking, she started to blend their protein shakes together. "Gotta admit, bro, you have some real food ideas at times. I'll be sure to give you a discount from now on." She have a laugh at her joke, but didn't hear her brother laugh as well, so she turned her head to see him staring out the window with a confused look. "Link? What's up?"

"It's Lana," he told her, promoting the jock to look outside and see the grease monkey of the family, sat next to the tree, almost expressionless. "Have you or any of the girls noticed anything up with her?"

"I'll be honest, once we got back, I kind of just went and did my own thing… but, she did seem a bit quiet in Vanzilla. I'm not sure, though."

Lincoln let out a hum as he thought for a few seconds. "Do you think I should talk to her?"

"Well, I don't think it could hurt." She stopped blending their shakes, and poured it into two glasses. "This ain't really my strong point, so just go with your gut."

He nodded, accepting one of the glasses from the athlete before proceeding to down the protein shake in one, a look of disgust on his face. "That was horrible." Lynn could only give a chuckle whilst drinking her own shake. "Alright. Here goes." He walked out through the kitchen door and into the yard, where he approached his younger sister. "Hey, Lana."

"Hey, Lincoln," she replied without looking, the boy noticing how her voice was a tad quieter than usual.

"You, uh, mind if I sit with you?" She merely shrugged, which caused a concerned look to appear in his eye as he sat down beside her, staring ahead at the road. "So, how come you're out here by yourself?"

"Hops was tired, so I put him in his terrarium so he could sleep, and Lola's watching some dumb Princess tutorial on her phone. The others are all doing their things."

"Oh… well, is there anything we can do together?"

"Hmm… not really."

A sigh escaped the boy's lips. 'Alright, guess I've got to just come out and say it, huh?' He thought you himself, turning his head to look at the tomboy. "Lana… is every-"

The sound of a scooter coming down the road interrupted them, causing Lana to say, "ooh, there's the pizza," before heading inside. Lincoln could only pinch his eyes at the bad timing.

"Seriously?" he grumbled, before standing up. 'Alright, no worries. I'll keep an eye out during dinner, and if she still seems down, then I'll try again.' Looking on as his sister the-entered the house, his expression developed into a frown. 'Still… I wonder what could be bothering her…'

* * *

Eventually, the boy made his way inside and washed his hands, before joining his sisters in the dining room for pizza. While everyone was eager to enjoy the cheesy treat, Lori was quick to make sure that everyone- though, it was more specifically directed towards Lynn and Lola- waited until the pizzas were divided up, with the two spare slices being set aside so their parents could reheat and eat them later. Fortunately, everyone listened to the eldest sister, and took their slices through to the living room so they could watch a show together.

As the siblings sat and ate peacefully, Lincoln found himself occasionally glancing over at the girl in the red cap, and he was able to notice that she didn't bear the same smile she normally did when she had pizza. Sure, she didn't look sad or anything, so the pizza had helped her mood a bit, but the fact she wasn't smiling definitely made Lincoln think something was on her mind. Of course, he didn't say anything, since the others were there too, and he didn't want to make a bigger deal of it without knowing the full story. About ten minutes into the show, however, Lana had finished her pizza and got up, taking her plate into the kitchen, before heading upstairs. At this point, Lincoln got up from the couch and kneeled down next to Lola.

"Hey, did anything happen to Lana at school today?" He asked, keeping his voice down.

"Not that I know of… though, she did sit by her self at lunch today," Lola whispered back. "I know she was a bit upset on Monday because of what happened in class, but I think she got over that."

"Hmm… okay."

"Why do you-"

He didn't wait for her response, instead finishing the last of his pizza and taking his plate into the kitchen, depositing it in the sink. He then headed upstairs after Lana, walking up to the closed door that led to the twins' bedroom. He gave a quick knock and opened it slightly.

"Lana?" He called in, poking his head through. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she replied, not looking up from the frog book in her lap. He headed all the way in and sat down next to her. "What's up?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you." Putting her book to one side, she looked up, seeing the concerned look on his face. "Is everything okay?"

She tilted her head in slight confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've seen kind of quiet today, and Lola told me you were sat by yourself at lunch. I was wondering if anything had happened at school today."

"No."

Her answer was a little too quick for Lincoln to believe her, so he tried a different tactic- he put a hand on her back and gently patted it. "Are you sure? Because I remember Lola saying saying something happened on Monday, and-"

"It's got nothing to do with that!" Lincoln flinched a little from how sharply she said this, which Lana noticed and frowned soon after. "Sorry. But, yeah, it's not about that…" Lincoln gave a concerned look, which made Lana sigh. "Not exactly…"

"Well, what is it?"

"…"

"Lana… if something's going on, then please, tell me. I don't want you to be upset over this."

The look in his eye told her that she was being genuine, and although she didn't really want to talk about it, she felt comforted by her big brother being caring. "Well… okay. It wasn't really to do with what happened on Monday, but… it was the same person. There's this girl in my class, Lacey."

"I think I remember you mentioning her. The girl from that dog show, right?"

Lana nodded, almost losing her hat but she readjusted it before it could fall off. "Yeah, her. She's not been, like, a bully or anything, but we don't get along." Lincoln nodded, understanding what she meant, before allowing her to continue. "So, on Monday, we had a little dispute, but it didn't become anything, and the teacher quickly stopped it. We didn't really interact yesterday, or today. Then, came lunchtime."

* * *

_Lana and Lola were walking out of their classroom together, thankful that it was lunchtime. Even for a first grade class where things were easy, that didn't stop them from getting bored in some classes, like math. "Why do they teach us this stuff? It's so dull!" Lola whined. "What's the point in learning numbers?"_

"_Well, it can be kinda useful," Lana argued. "I know Lisa could name a bajillion reasons, but I've gotta use numbers when I'm working on Vanzilla. Plus, think of when we go to the mall. Whenever we buy stuff, there's some kind of math there."_

_Lola blinked, putting a hand to her chin. "You know, I never thought of it like that… still doesn't make it less boring, though."_

_Lana chuckled, not arguing about that. "Yeah, it doesn't." The two of them opened their lockers, pulling out their packed lunches, and whilst Lola shut hers and started walking, Lana pulled out a note, which read:_

Hey, Lana,

You free to meet at lunch?

Got something to show ya

I'll be by the dumpsters

Skippy

_Reading this note made Lana blush, her mind fluttering with ideas of what he might be about to show her. 'Maybe he got some really cool auto parts from his dad's garage, or he found some rare treasure at the dumps! Ooh, maybe he got a new frog!'_

"_Lana!" She heard Lola call out to her, making her shut her locker and turn to her twin. "Are you coming?"_

"_Uh, actually, I'm gonna catch up in a bit. I need to… use the little girls' room." With a roll of her eyes, the pageant princess walked away, leaving the older twin to turn around and giddily walk towards the yard, where she was curious to find out what her friend/crush would have to show her. Once outside, she couldn't see anyone, and the dumpster looked clear, so she thought that he might be waiting behind the dumpster, but walking over to it showed that he wasn't there either. "Guess he had to go? Unless…"_

_She opened up the dumpster lid and hopped up, but found that he wasn't in there either. "Aw, man… and there's not even any good trash in here."_

"_LANA LOUD!" a voice angrily yelled, making her leap out of the dumpster and see her teacher marching over. "What have I told you about climbing in the dumpsters?!"_

"_Not to… but, I thought that my friend was-"_

"_I don't want to hear it, Lana! Now, go and wash up, and go to lunch."_

_She ducked her head, whispering a "yes, ma'am" as she walked back inside. Once outside the bathroom, she heard someone talking on the inside._

"_I can't believe that grease monkey fell for it!" One girl said with an audibly snobby laugh._

"_I know! What boy would want anything to do with such an urchin?" Another girl, this one Lana recognising as Lacey, agreed, with a snobbier laugh than her friend's. Lana could hear them walking closer, so she positioned herself so that the door would open, hiding her as the posh girls walked away, meaning they didn't see the tears appearing in her eyes._

* * *

"After that, I just got washed up, went to lunch and… tried to pretend it didn't happen."

Even now, the tears were starting to well up, and it broke her brother's heart, making him pull her in for a hug. "Did you tell anyone about that?"

She shook her head. "No, because my teacher was already mad at me, I didn't want her to think I was lying. It doesn't matter, though."

"What?!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her so she could look him in the eye. "What do you mean it doesn't matter? Lana, what she did to you wasn't fair."

"No… but, it's my own fault for believing her."

"No, Lana, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was! I got my hopes up, only to crash and burn. Maybe she's right… maybe I'm stupid for doing stuff like that. Hopping in dumpsters, rolling in the mud-"

"Stop it." She was surprised at the tone of his voice, stern but not in a way that made it seem like he was angry at her. She looked back up at him and saw the biggest frown she had ever seen on the boy's face. "You can't let her get to you like that. While I don't think you should eat stuff from dumpsters, you absolutely should not let what other people think, especially some snob, dictate what you do, because it's the things you do that make you who you are. So, tell me- do you enjoy rolling around in the mud with Charles, fixing Vanzilla and the toilet?"

"Well, yeah."

"And do you like playing with Hops at the pond, and searching the scrapyard for parts?"

"Yeah, I do."

He gave a soft smile and told her, "then that's all that matters. If you like doing those things, then don't let that Lacey girl tell you that you should be doing otherwise. Just ignore her, and enjoy the things you enjoy." She was slowly starting to smile, but Lincoln knew what would make her smile more. "Besides, I'm sure Skippy thinks you're cool for liking those things."

Her cheeks turned red as a small giggle came from her mouth. "Shut up," she teased giving a small push on his chest, before leaning in and hugging him. "Thanks, Lincoln."

"No problem, Lana," he replied, hugging her back. "Now, what's say we head into my room, and I find some nature videos to watch on ViewTube for a bit? Plus, we don't have to tell mom, but I've got a little bit of Halloween candy left."

Her smile practically beamed at his suggestion. "Okay!"

He gave a small chuckle and a nod, then lifted her up and carried her out the door, neither aware of the person that had heard their conversation giving the boy something of a sad smile.


	43. Ch 43- Is Good For The Brother

Friday came, and with it came the end of the school day, but more importantly, the end of the school week. Before Mrs Johnson could even dismiss her class after the final bell had rung, they were out of their seats and making their way toward the exit, eager to begin their weekend. Probably the only person in no rush to leave was Lincoln, who could already picture his sporty sister waiting impatiently for him at the front steps, while the rest of the sisters would drive off in Vanzilla. Still, he didn't particularly want to stay in school any longer either, so he got up from his seat and headed out of the classroom, where he saw his friends stood by their lockers. While normally he would head to his locker and talk with them, someone else spoke to him first.

"Hey, Lincoln," he heard, turning to see Jordan, her backpack on her back. "So, is your mom dropping you off tomorrow?"

"Yeah, mom is gonna drive me and Leni there," he replied. "There'll probably be at least one or two of my other sisters too, since we all tend to show up at each other's events when we can."

"That's sweet. So, guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing." So, she waved at him and started to walk away, which would have allowed Lincoln to turn around and walk up to his locker, if his friends weren't all stood right behind him. "Gah! What are you guys doing?"

"Just wondering how you were doing with asking Jordan out," Rusty blurted our with a cocky grin, only to feel a whack on his shoulder. "Hey!"

"Shut up, Rusty," Stella scolded, before turning to Lincoln again. "We weren't spying on you, we just happened to see you talking. All we heard was 'see you tomorrow'."

"Yeah, that's because we're helping at my sister's fashion show this weekend." He could see the look of surprise on their faces, so before they could ask him more, he interjected. "Though I think I already mentioned this, I'll tell you more on Monday, but right now, Lynn's waiting for me, so I better go. If I'm late to our training session, she'll probably go drill sergeant on me. Enjoy your weekend, guys."

They all offered the same to him as he walked away, heading towards the front exit. He didn't need to go to his locker since he had everything in his bag already, so he was able to head right outside, where he saw that his prediction was correct- Lynn was stood waiting for him, back rested against a parked Vanzilla, her eyes immediately locking on his.

"About time, Stinkoln!" She let out in an exasperated sigh. "What, were you too busy talking nerd stuff?"

With a shake of his head, he simply told her, "something like that, Lynn. So, are we heading to the park then?"

"Yep! Keep up!"

And just like that, Lynn took off running, leaving Lincoln a second to realise what was happening before shouting, "HEY!", and running after her. It didn't take him long to catch up to her, as she had stopped and waited for him a couple of blocks away, the boy panting as he slowed to a stop before her. "Seriously?"

"Had to get your butt moving somehow," she said smugly, before ditching her grin for a more serious look. "Anyway, let's walk for a bit."

As soon as he heard that, he straightened his posture and his eyes went alert, knowing that this meant she wanted to talk- Lynn never 'walked', unless she had just finished practice or she wanted to talk, and they hadn't even started their training session. Walking alongside his sister, he looked at her and asked, "so, what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you about something, but first I wanted to check. Do you remember what Lana told us yesterday?"

"Yeah. She said that she told the teacher on what Lacey did, and that when Skippy heard about it, he checked up on her." It was true- the plumber, mechanic and animal lover had quite the smile on her face after school the day before, wasting no time in telling the others about how her crush had told her that he thought she was pretty cool for doing the stuff that she did, and invited her to his uncle's engineering company. While it wasn't a date by any means, it definitely helped Lana to put this situation behind her. "I'm glad things worked out for her."

"I'm sure you are, bro. Especially after what you told her."

He blinked, stopping for a second before catching up with her. "What do you mean?"

"I kind of overheard what you told her on Wednesday- about not letting that snob tell her what she should like and shouldn't like, and all that." She stopped walking, turning to him so he would stop as well and so she could face him. "You did the right thing telling her that."

"Well, of course I was gonna tell her that, she's my little sister."

"Hey, I get it, and I respect it. That is why I'm telling you- as your older sister- to take your own advice."

As he realised what she was getting at, he developed a small frown. "Oh…"

"I mean, I get that you want it to go down well, but what's really the difference here?"

"Well… I-I mean, Y'know… you guys are my sisters, not some snob who has a problem with me. I'm always gonna care what you think."

She crossed her arms. "So, if the girls tell you that you shouldn't go to practice when you tell them, are you gonna stop?"

"N-no, of course not… but I don't want them to laugh at me for it either." He stepped away to sit down on a bench, the brunette following suit and resting her arm on his shoulder as he looked down at his hands. "I know what you're trying to say here… but I don't know how to tell them. It's not like…" He took a moment to try and figure out what he was trying to say, the sporty Loud sister being patient and allowing him to figure things out. "It's not like with Lana. It wasn't a case of her trying to tell someone that she cares for that she likes doing what she does. She's always known what she likes, and she hasn't had that… that anxiety about how people would react, especially you girls."

"Well, let me ask you this- do you think they're going to laugh?"

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I don't know… that's what makes it hard."

Letting out a sigh of her own, she pulled her brother into a side hug. "Look, Linc… I'm not trying to make this tougher for you, you know that, right? I might not be as good as you when it comes to people and planning and stuff, but I still want to help you. You trusted me to let me into your secret, and I'm grateful for that… and I know the others will be too. I can't promise they'll react the exact same way I did, or that they'll just immediately act like they knew all along... but I know they care about you, and they'll at least be considerate, as long as you give them a chance to. Don't take too long to make that play."

"I was wondering when you would make a sports analogy," he joked, getting a small chuckle from his sister before they smiled at each other. "Thanks for talking to me, Lynn. I know I don't have this all figured out yet, but I'm glad you have my back."

"Any time, bro. Don't worry, you'll figure this out." Giving him a quick pat on the back, she leapt off the bench. "Now, come on. Less mushy stuff, more fitness. Come on!"

Unfazed by his sister's switch in mood, he got up and nodded to her. "Let's do this."

* * *

So, after their talk, the day resumed like normal for Lincoln- he completed his parkour session with Lynn, then headed home to relax a bit before joining his family for dinner. After that, however, while he was working on his homework, his mind drifted back to that talk, and to how he should go about letting the rest of his sisters know the truth about his extracurricular activities. Taking a spare sheet out of his notebook, he started to jot down some thoughts, but this ended up turning into scrawling out a mess of thoughts that just confused him. 'I can't tell her first, because she'll just spill it to the others… but if I tell her first, then she might… and if I tell her, then…' Letting out a frustrated grumble, he scrunched up the paper into a ball and threw it into his bin. 'Dang it… why is it so hard to figure this out?'

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of his door opening, prompting him to look and see Leni stood there. "Hey, Linky," she greeted. "Are you free at the moment?"

"Hey, Leni," he greeted back. "I was doing some homework, but I could use a break. What's up?"

"Well, since it's the fashion show tomorrow, I was hoping that we could get any alterations done tonight, so that we don't have to do them in the morning. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that makes sense. Yeah, we can do that now, if it helps."

Her face lit up, her hands coming together as she giddily exclaimed, "yay! Alright, let's head into my room- Lori's at a sleepover at Whitney's, so we have it all to ourselves." With a nod, he followed the fashionista out of his room and into hers, where he saw the mirrors and pedestal already waiting for him. She walked "Alright, just change into these, step on, and we'll get right to it."

"Okay." He took a minute or so changing into the clothes that Leni had designed for him to model- a brown western epaulet shirt, with dark grey jeans and black Chelsea boots- before stepping onto the pedestal. Leni looked once he did, and couldn't help but squeal again. "You look totes cute, Linky! If we had the right hat, you'd be like a little cowboy!"

He blushed at his sister's excited reaction. "Uh… thanks."

"But, of course, we didn't think that the hat would be a good idea, since we've been wanting our designs to look more casual, although now that I think about it, it would probably work if we were in Texas." She was going to say more, but as she looked back at her brother, she saw that there was an almost lost look on his face, staring through the mirror rather than at his reflection. "Linky? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back at his sister. "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine."

She merely frowned, giving a soft shake of her head. "Linky, I might not be that smart, but I can tell you're thinking about something."

"Well…" Knowing that she was going to ask until he told her, he started to consider telling her, but he decided that it wasn't the time to talk about that, and came up with something else to tell her. "I'm just… kind of nervous about tomorrow." It wasn't a complete lie- while it wasn't what was on his mind specifically, he'd be lying if he claimed he was feeling ready for the fashion show either. He had helped her by modelling while she designed clothes, sure, but he had never worn them for a showcase.

"Aww, Linky…" She pulled her brother off the pedestal, wrapping him in a warm hug. "You don't have to be nervous, you're going to be totes amazing!"

"I don't know… are you sure you picked the right person for this? I'm not exactly a model, you know. Not the kind that walks the runway and all that jazz."

She loosened the hug, holding him at arms length and looking him in the eye. "Linky, there's no one else I would want modelling my clothes. Sure, you aren't the only one that _will_ be modelling for me, but having you model one of my outfits means a lot to me, because you're my brother."

"I know, but-"

"But, nothing. Linky, you need to give yourself more credit. You're a really good model, and all of your coaching for Lola is really gonna help you tomorrow." A grin appeared on her face as she reached over to grab her phone. "And it's not just gonna help you."

Seeing his sister type away at her device made Lincoln curious. "What are you doing?"

"Bear with… bear with… ah, got it!"

She handed her phone over to her little brother, whose eyes immediately fell upon the texts that were on the screen. He opened his mouth, ready to ask her if she was showing him the wrong thing, when he found a particular series of texts that made him realise why she was showing him them:

_**Jen: Is Lincoln ready for tomorrow's show?**_

_**Leni: Totes! How's Jordan getting on?**_

_**Jen: She's really been practicing the stuff your brother taught her. I swear, she's been walking back and forth for half an hour now! **_

'She's been practicing what I taught her?' He thought, a small blush appearing on his cheeks at this. 'Woah…' Again, he was about to say something, but he saw what he next text read:

_**Jen: I'd tell her to stop, but it's pretty adorable. See for yourself**_

The next thing sent below that was a video, which Lincoln figured was of Jordan rehearsing. While there was a slight bit of him that wanted to watch, his thumb only hovered over the play button before he handed the phone back to Leni. "Don't you want to see the video?" She asked.

He shook his head, telling her, "I don't need to. Besides, I'll be able to see tomorrow."

Like a lightbulb going off in her head, her face lit up. "You're so right. Plus, I need to finish these alterations before mom calls for bedtime." Putting a hand back on his shoulder, she looked him in the eye once more and reminded him, "no matter what happens tomorrow, Linky, I'm gonna be right there. You could never let me down, and you won't screw up. I believe in you."

Touched by her assurance, he hugged her again, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Thanks, Leni."

* * *

After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, Lincoln found himself sat in the second row of Vanzilla, with a Reininger's bag containing what he would be modelling on his left and his second oldest sister on his right. While their mother drove them towards their destination, the fashionista felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to see that it was Lynn who had done so, the athlete being the only Loud sister carpooling with them since she had practice at the same time as the fashion show. The others were either making their own way there or too busy to go.

"So, you two ready for this?" She asked.

"Totally!" Leni replied, smiling as always. "They're going to, like, fall in love with our designs. Me and Jen know exactly what to say, and with Linky and Jordan, we've got the perfect models for it."

Lincoln gave a small blush from this, muttering back, "I don't think I'm perfect for it."

"Eh, you'll be fine, Link," Lynn told the snowcapped boy. "I mean, I don't really care for fashion stuff, you know that, but isn't the point of this the clothes?"

"It's not that simple, Lynn," Leni argued, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The job of the model isn't just to wear the clothes, but to display them. They're there to make the audience want to wear the clothes." Looking over, she saw that Lincoln looked a bit down, making her realise her mistake. "But, more importantly, they're there to have fun, so as long as you have fun, Linky, then everything will be great."

He knew that she was trying to make him feel better about this, so he gave her a smile and leaned over to hug her. "Don't worry, Leni. I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

Not long later, they saw their destination appear, the van pulling up in the parking lot to the Royal Woods High School convention centre. "Alright, you two," Rita told her kids. "Once I've dropped Lynn off at practice, I'll come back and watch the show. Have fun, okay?"

"Okay!" They both replied, before getting out of the car with their respective bags. Once they'd shut the doors to Vanzilla, they waved as their mother and the fifth eldest Loud sister drove away.

"Alright, Linky, let's head inside." Her brother nodded before following the blonde high school junior into the building. Once inside, Lincoln took a good look around, and couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed by it all. Though only a few teachers were currently sat in the audience seats, there looked to be enough for a good few hundred people. The catwalk stretched right down the middle of the room, the two curtains at the stage end showing him where the models would appear from. The lights were down with purple and blue spotlights currently cast over the room, and a typical club hit was playing over the sound system. He was going to say something about it, but the words didn't seem to come. "We need to head backstage so we can debrief, so follow me."

Lincoln was content to do just that, following after his sister as she led him through the door to the left of the stage, which led him to a smaller room which was still big, and this one was full of people. He surmised that most of these were high school students, with a few of them likely being middle schoolers too, as well as a few teachers. This only made Lincoln feel less confident, knowing that he was likely the youngest one back there, but he didn't say anything, knowing that it would make Leni fret over him, and she probably didn't need it at the moment.

"So… should I go change?" He asked her, to which she nodded.

"Let me find Miguel, and he'll lead you to the boy's changing rooms." She placed a hand over her eyes and scanned the room, before eventually finding her work friend. "Miguel! Over here!"

A boy with light tan skin and dark styled hair, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers, made his way through the sea of high schoolers and beamed when he saw his work friend. "Leni! You made it!" He greeted, approaching her so they could cheek kiss like she had learned from some French rom-com. "We were wondering when you were going to get here! Jackie has been waiting desperately for you!"

"Sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way here," she explained, before putting a hand on her brother's back. "Miguel, this is my little brother Lincoln. He's modelling for me and Jen today, so could you help him find the boys dressing room?"

"No problem, girl friend!"

"Thanks, Miguel!" Turning to her brother, she told him, "okay, Linky, you can trust Miguel. I'll come see how you're doing in a bit, but Jordan should be around somewhere, so you two can chat while you wait, okay?"

With a nod, he hugged his sister back when she embraced him, before turning to the Latino as she walked away. "So, do you go to school with Leni too?"

"No, I know Leni from Reininger's," he explained, to which the Loud boy nodded in understanding. "You know, she talks a lot about you, more than any of your other sisters."

"She does?"

"Uh huh. I know she probably won't say it, but I'd argue you're her favourite." The added wink he have made the sixth grader blush, though he couldn't deny that he liked the idea of being Leni's favourite. "Now, the changing rooms are back this way, but before I take you, are you okay with makeup?" Lincoln tilted his head, curious as to why he asked this. "Nothing too professional, just a bit of eyeliner to make your eyes stand out for the photographers."

"Oh. Well, if that's all it is, then I guess I'm okay with that."

Miguel flashed him a thumbs up. "Perfect. Now, come with me- changing rooms are this way." Lincoln stuck close to the teen as they went towards the back of the room, where he could see a row of makeshift curtained changing stalls. "Now, since you're Leni's brother, I'll wait for you to make sure everything's okay. Give me a shout when you're ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Miguel." With that, Lincoln stepped into an open stall and closed the curtain behind him, placing his bag on the bench. 'Alright, Lincoln. Let's do this, I guess.'


	44. Ch 44- Taking To The Runway

**(A/N: full disclaimer. I know nothing about fashion, so I could be talking out of my arse a bit here. Still, thanks for reading, and enjoy!)**

The door to the backstage area opened once more, the high school Rosato girl being the one to enter this time with her younger sister behind her. She took a deep breath, familiarising herself with the mix of scents that came from the different hair products, perfumes, aftershaves and other assorted beauty products. "Ah… that's the scent I wanna walk into," she commented, making the younger Rosato raise an eyebrow.

"It is? Honestly, this is making me a little nauseous," she argued.

Jen simply smirked at her, teasingly patting her on the head. "That's because you're a newbie. I've been doing his for a while now, and if I'm not met with this scent, then I don't feel confident, because it means they aren't ready."

Jordan simply gave a shake of her head. "If you say so…"

Jen noticed that tone in her voice. "Feeling nervous?" Timidly, her little sister gave a nod, using her free arm to rub the back of the arm that held the bag containing her outfit. "Don't worry, you're gonna do great. I've seen you practicing, you've got this."

"You think?" Jen nodded, making her feel a little better. "I hope so. Still, I guess I'll feel a bit better seeing once I see Lincoln and Leni."

"Well, then, let's go find them. Leni texted me to say they got here a few minutes ago, so they're here somewhere." With a nod, Jordan followed after Jen, making sure to stick close as they made their way through the sea of mostly high schoolers- some were stood chatting amongst themselves, some were having adjustments add to their outfits or getting make up done, but most of them paid no mind to Jen and Jordan, with the former receiving the occasional "hey" or "what's up" that she would return in kind. After about thirty seconds, though, they eventually found the fashionista of the Loud family, who was currently stood next to a seat, which was occupied by a tan skinned girl with long black hair, dressed in a white blouse with grey jeggings and a lavender chiffon scarf tied around her neck. "Leni!"

Looking over her shoulder, Leni smiled at the new arrivals. "Jen! Jordan! You made it!" She excitedly greeted.

"Yeah, we would've been here sooner, but there was traffic," Jen explained.

"Ugh, I know, right? Me and Linky only just got here a few minutes ago, it was so bad." She then turned to the smaller girl, who was visibly less enthused than the two high schoolers. "Thank you so much again for doing this, Jordan. We really appreciate this, and I think you're going to look totes adorable up there."

Leni's infectious attitude gave Jordan no choice but to smile. "Forget about it. I don't mind, really. So, where should I get changed?"

"One sec." Turning around, she cupped a hand around her mouth and called out, "Fiona! Where are you?"

"Just a second, Leni," they heard someone call back, and a moment later, they saw a brunette wearing a pink and magenta striped sweater, light blue jeans rolled up at the ankles, dark gray shoes and a yellow neckerchief make her way through crowd. "What do you need?"

"Jordan, this is Fiona. I work with her at the mall." After the elementary schooler gave a small wave, Leni turned to the brunette and asked her, "Fiona, could you show Jordan where to get changed for me, please?"

"Sure. Let's go, Jordan."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Jen assured the girl. "Come find me when you're ready, okay?" Giving a nod, Jordan followed after Fiona as she led her away, leaving her older sister and her friend behind. "So, you brought the line-up sheet, right?"

"Uh huh," Leni replied, grabbing a sheet of paper off of the table and handing it to her friend. "I made one teensy change last night, but we can change it back if necessary."

Jen checked over the list, eventually finding the change that she was referring to, before shaking her head. "No, it works like that, actually. Nice thinking." Leni beamed at the compliment, making her friend give a light chuckle. "So, I'm gonna get changed ten minutes before the show starts. What about you?"

"I think I'm gonna do the same. Make sure everyone else is ready before I am, check there aren't any-"

"Um, Leni?"

Blinking for a second, Leni turned around and gave a sheepish smile. "Oops. Sorry, Jackie, kind of got distracted."

"It's fine," the tan skinned girl told her. "We're almost done, though, right?"

"Totally. Just a few touches, and you'll be catwalk ready."

* * *

Whilst Leni has returned her attention to her friend, Jordan had found her way into a changing booth, and took little time getting changed into her runway outfit. Once she had finished putting on her black ballet pumps, she reached into her bag and put on the last part of her ensemble- the dark blue scarf that Lincoln had bought her for her birthday. Jen had initially questioned why Jordan wanted to wear that with the outfit, but Jordan didn't care, and as she looked at herself in the available mirror, she was glad she chose to. The darker blue of her scarf worked well with the ocean blue of her tunic shirt, which hung just below the top of her black leggings. She couldn't help but give a slight twirl as she saw her reflection, loving how the outfit looked on her.

'I might actually have to start wearing this,' she thought. 'Even if that means I don't hear the end of it from Jen, I think this looks good.' She scooped up the rest of her clothes and placed them in the bag, then walked out of the changing room. When she saw that Fiona had gone, however, she felt a bit overwhelmed by the mass of people in the room, making her gulp. 'Okay… no need to panic, just gotta find Jen.' Taking a deep breath, she started to make her through the crowd, though the fact that she was younger and smaller than most of the high schoolers in the room meant that most of them didn't see her, so she would get bumped into a fair bit. She tried her best to apologise and get through, but it was getting to her a bit. Just as she was feeling like screaming just to be seen, she tripped over someone's foot and went stumbling forward, only to feel someone grab her by the arms to hold her up. "Sorry, I-"

"Jordan, it's me." Looking up, she saw that her 'saviour' was none other than Lincoln. "Are you okay?"

Initially caught off guard, she stammered a little, her cheeks heating up slightly. "Uh, y-yeah, thanks. Sorry about that, I was-" Pausing herself, she smirked a little as she noticed something. "Are you wearing eyeliner?"

It was Lincoln's turn to blush a bit. "Uh, y-yeah. Leni's friend Miguel, he said it would work… f-for the photographers."

She gave a small giggle at his response. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing. I know Jen's gonna want me to put makeup on too, though I don't really mind."

"Here, let's get away from the crowd for a moment." He led her towards the edge of the room, where things were a bit less hectic, and they were able to sit down in a couple of spare chairs. "So… are you… looking forward to this?"

"Honestly? Not much, but it's too late to go back now, I guess."

"Yeah, I kind of feel the same way. Still, if it's for Leni, then I don't mind helping her. Plus… I feel a bit better knowing you're here too."

Her lips curled upward upon hearing this, unconsciously raising a hand to her chest. "Aww… thanks, Lincoln. I'm glad that you're here too." His cheeks lit up again, making her giggle, and as she did so, she took notice of what he was wearing, and her cheeks went a bit red again. "I've got to say, you look… pretty good in that outfit."

If Lincoln's cheeks weren't red before, then they were now. "Th-thanks, Jordan." He then took a moment to look at his friend's attire, and grew shy, looking away slightly while scratching his cheek with his index finger. "I think… you look… v-very pretty like that."

Her cheeks grew redder, though not quite as red as his were. "Th-thank you…" Neither said anything for a moment, until Jordan remembered that Jen was waiting for her to see that she was ready. She looked around the room for a moment, trying to spot her sister, before looking back to Lincoln when she wasn't able to find her. "Hey, Lincoln? I don't suppose you know where Jen is, do you? I tried looking for her before, but… I kind of got overwhelmed by the crowd."

He was able to sense a bit of tension in her voice when she said this. "Uh, I haven't seen her, but I think she's with Leni. Do you want me to help you find her?" She nodded. "Okay. Well, um… here."

He held out his hand to her, and she looked at it for a couple of seconds before grasping it with her own, following the white haired boy through the crowd of people. Though there were still a few high schoolers who didn't notice them and bumped into them, Lincoln and Jordan were able to get through more easily, though they still couldn't find their sisters. As they were searching, however, Lincoln found someone he recognised as one of Leni's friends- a girl with auburn hair, blue eyes and freckles, wearing a light blue shirt under an open purple cardigan, blue jeans, white slip on shoes and a pearl necklace.

"Excuse me," he spoke, getting her attention.

She turned to the boy and gave a big, beaming smile. "Hey! You're Leni's brother, right?" She greeted. "I heard you were modelling for Leni today. She's pretty much been gushing about how cute you were going to look, and she was right!"

Lincoln's cheeks, which had lost their blush a little bit, flared up once again, not helped by the gentle laughter of the girl still holding his hand. "Y-yeah, that's me. Um, do you know where my sister is? It's kind of hard to find her in here."

"Oh, yeah, she's at the makeup table. Follow me." He looked over his shoulder at Jordan, and told her "let's go" before they followed after the high schooler, who managed to clear a path for them to walk through without bumping into anyone. When they reached the makeup table, Lincoln was able to see his sister. "Leni! Your little brother is looking for you!"

Leni turned around and saw them, smiling as always. "Thanks, Jessie!" She told her friend before she walked off, allowing the two elementary schoolers to approach the sixteen-year-old Loud girl. "Hey, you found Jordan! One sec, okay?" She turned around and yelled out, "Jen! She's here!"

"Coming!" They heard Jen yell back, before seeing the older Rosato girl emerge a few seconds later. "Jordan, I thought you were going to come straight to me once you got dressed?"

"Sorry, Jen," she apologised, looking down. "I kind of got lost in the crowd."

Jen felt slightly guilty at this, so she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and told her, "hey, it's my fault. I should've been keeping an eye on you. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good." Giving her sister a look up and down, she smiled. "You know what? You were right, that scarf really does go with the outfit." This made her little sister perk up a bit, which made Jen smile more. "There we go. Okay, so the show's gonna start in about fifteen minutes. I'm gonna get changed, and when I get back, I'll sort your makeup for you. Just stay here with Lincoln, okay?"

"Okay." After her sister gave her a quick hug before walking away, Jordan turned to Lincoln again and told him, "guess this is it."

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine. You've got this."

"I hope so…" A smirk graced her lips as a chuckle escaped them. "Still, if anything goes wrong, I can just blame it on your coaching." The boy let out a chuckle, and for whatever reason, hearing this made her feel better about what was going to happen. 'Maybe this won't be so bad.'

* * *

Eventually, the main lights in the convention centre went down, and the spotlights lit up the catwalk, where a woman with long brown hair and glasses in a maroon shirt, grey skirt with black leggings and black shoes was stood with a microphone in her hand. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this year's Royal Woods High autumn charity fashion show! On behalf of the students here, I wish to thank you for coming. Our students have been working hard over the last few weeks to design and manufacture all of the outfits you will see today, and not to raise expectations, but I couldn't be happier with how they turned out, so let's give all of them a big round of applause to start things off." The audience complied, clapping their hands together for a good five seconds before the teacher spoke again. "Now, we have ten pairs of students who have been in charge of what you're going to see today, so let's start with the first pair. Please welcome to the catwalk, Leni Loud and Jeniffer Rosato!"

The crowd applauded once more as the two girls appeared through the curtain and walked onto the catwalk. Leni gave a twirl, showing off her sky blue v-neck handkerchief dress and peach sandals, while Jen simply gave a wave as she stood next to her friend, wearing a beige sweater, black palazzo pants with white stripes, and white wedge sneakers with white socks. Jen accepted the microphone from her teacher, then turned to face the crowd once more. "Hello, everyone!" She greeted to the crowd. "I'm Jen, and this is Leni."

"Hey, everyone!" Leni greeted as well, making Jen shake her head in amusement.

"So, we have a lot of designs to show you, and we want to start by thanking all of our models who were willing to show off what we came up with today."

"Of course, we couldn't let them have all the fun. What kind of designers would we be if we didn't wear some of our own creations? Take Jen, for instance." Jen then proceeded to strike a pose for the audience. "Jen is currently wearing a beige cashmere sweater, with black palazzo pants with white stripes, plus white wedge sneakers for that extra sway on the feet of the pants. A great outfit for November, whether you're walking through the streets filled with autumn leaves, or sat in a café with a pumpkin spice latte."

"Meanwhile, Leni here is wearing a lovely sky blue chiffon handkerchief dress with a round neck. Combined with her peach sandals, this is great for a party." Leni gave a small curtsy, showing off the flow of her dress. "But this is just the beginning, so without further ado, let's bring out our models!"

The crowd cheered a bit as Leni and Jen moved to the side of the curtain at the start of the runway. As a club hit with a medium-fast tempo beat began to play, Lincoln and Jordan watched on from backstage, where the teacher from before directed the models that Leni and Jen had hired, sending the first one onto the runway before using the list the two girls had provided her with to get the next person ready. While listening to his sister and her friend describe the models' attires as they appeared on the runway one-by-one, he looked and saw that Jordan was a bit nervous. "You okay?"

She looked at him and held her hand out flat, shaking it in a 'so-so' manner. "It's kind of scary now that I'm right by the curtain."

He did his best to comfort her, giving her a gentle smile and telling her, "don't worry. I'm right after you, so you've got my support. Just get the beat in your head and look straight ahead, and you'll be fine."

She gave him a bit of a smirk, then asked him, "how do you know just what to say?" He gave a shrug, making her give a quiet yet hearty laugh. "Thanks, Lincoln."

"Jordan!" The teacher announced, gaining their attention. "You're up next, followed by Lincoln."

She turned to Lincoln, saying "wish me luck", before walking up to the curtain. Taking a steady breath, she got the beat of the music in her head, and once the teacher gave the signal, she stepped through the curtain and began to walk the runway. She put everything Lincoln told her to practice- each step was in time with the music, heel to toe; her posture was straight and strong, with her arms hanging by her sides and her eyes looking straight ahead. She passed the previous model halfway along, and when she reached the end of the catwalk, she struck her pose, placing a hand on one hip and looking to the side, then turning on the ball of her foot five seconds later so she could show the other side of her outfit to the audience.

Another five seconds passed, and she began to walk back toward the curtain. As she saw Lincoln walking her way, however, she realised that her aim was slightly off and that she was going to bump into him, so she tried to readjust her path. However, her foot landed on the edge of the runway, which threw off her balance, and before she knew it, she was starting to fall, letting out a scream.

"JORDAN!" She heard people shout, and just as she thought she was gonna head straight into the floor, she felt an arm wrap around her waist while another hand grabbed her arm, preventing her fall. Her heart was pumping and the sudden shock of the fall had disoriented her, but a few seconds later, she looked up and saw the fear stricken face of Lincoln staring back at her, the boy's heart pumping just as fast as hers was. Neither knew what to do for a second or two, feeling frozen from the sudden fall, before Lincoln pulled Jordan upright, neither taking their eyes off of each other. Neither were aware that all eyes were on them, or that the music had stopped. They were still starting to calm down after what had just happened. "Are… are you okay?"

Though still in shock, she gave a small nod and said, "uh… yeah, I… I'm okay."

"Jordan!" They heard Jen call, both turning to see her rushing over to engulf her younger sister in a hug. "Are you okay? What happened? Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm… I'm sorry." She felt a couple of tears in her eyes as she hugged her sister back. "My foot just hit the edge of the runway, and… next thing I know…"

"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry, I'm just glad you're not hurt." She then looked over at the white haired boy. "Lincoln… thank you so much."

"Don't thank me," he insisted. "Honestly, I just acted."

"Your 'act' just saved my sister. Thank you so, so much." She then released her sister from the hug and looked at her once again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… though, I'm a bit shaken."

Jen nodded, fully understanding and not surprised by this in the least. Looking back to Lincoln, she asked him, "would you take her backstage? I've got a bottle of water on the makeup table."

He nodded, then allowed Jordan to wrap an arm around his so he could walk with her back towards the curtain. While they walked, Leni approached them, along with the teacher, who asked, "are you okay, miss?" Jordan nodded. "Alright. You two head to the back, and I'll check on you in a little bit."

"Thank you," Jordan quietly told her, before allowing Lincoln to lead her through the curtain, where more than a few of the other models were showing their concerns.

"Don't crowd her, please," Lincoln asked, giving thanks when they obliged and allowed them to pass through to the makeup table, where Lincoln sat her down. He then reached for the water bottle, which he handed to the girl. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She took a moment to drink from the bottle, feeling her heart rate settle as she sipped it down, then put the cap back on when she was done and put the bottle back on the table.

"Better?"

"Better," she told him with a nod, then looked him in the eye. "Lincoln… I really appreciate you saving me back there."

He rubbed the back of his head, replying with "I wouldn't say that I _saved_ you."

"Well, I would." Before he could counter that again, she stood up and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, Lincoln."

Though surprised by the contact, his relief that she was okay warmed him to it, so he returned the hug in kind. "Any time, Jordan."


	45. Ch 45- Food For Thought

**(A/N: hey, guys! So, first of all, sorry for uploads not being regular at the moment. I know I've brought that up a lot, but I do feel a bit guilty about that. Once I've gotten my other story finished, I'll hopefully get things going like before again. Lesson learned- don't write two stories at once.**

**Also, I wanted to let you know that I'm taking a break from this over the holidays to get assignments done, but there is something else I'm gonna be doing soon. Starting on Christmas Day, I'm gonna be uploading what I'm calling Twelve Loud Days, which will be twelve daily one-shots. I'm looking for ideas for what to write, so if any of you have any suggestions, I should have uploaded the first chapter, which should explain what I'm doing better. Feel free to check it out if you're interested.**

**Now that that's out of the way, thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

After the final designers had showcased their designs, the fashion show came to a close. Thankfully, other than Jordan almost falling off the stage, the show went off without a hitch, and as soon as Leni and Jen had finished showing off their creations, they headed backstage to see that the younger Rosato girl was okay- though initially shaken, talking with Lincoln had allowed her to calm down and try to move on from what happened. When an interval came around, not only did the teacher from before come over to check on her, but a number of her friends from school who were there went to check if she was okay, as well as the Loud sisters in attendance (though they were also there to tease Lincoln a little about his 'gallant rescue', which made the boy blush to no small degree).

Eventually, though, the show was over, and after helping the rest of the high schoolers to clear up the backstage area, Leni and Jen told their younger siblings/models that they had a little surprise for them, and began leading them on a walk which led them to the Royal Woods Mall. While Leni had changed back into her usual seafoam green dress, Jen, Jordan and Lincoln had all decided to stick with the clothes they wore on the runway. As they passed by the fountain at the entrance to the mall, Lincoln decided to ask his older sister, "so, where are we going?"

"Well, me and Jen decided to come here so we could celebrate the fashion show going well!" the blonde girl eagerly replied.

"And we've brought you two as a way of thanking you for modelling for us," Jen added. "We know that neither of you were exactly ecstatic to be doing it, but it means a lot to us. Plus, we thought you'd be hungry after the show."

"Yeah, the refreshments weren't very… refreshing," Jordan pointed out, having turned her nose up at some of the offerings back at the convention centre. "I don't even want to know what was in that casserole."

"Or how long that pizza had been kept," Lincoln agreed, giving a small shudder. "So, are we heading to the food court?"

Leni nodded. "Yep, and we're going to my favourite place to eat there! Trust me, you guys are gonna love it."

She led them to the escalator, where after the two older girls got on, Lincoln saw Jordan immediately hold onto the railing once she started moving. "Are you okay?" He asked as he got on after her.

"Uh… y-yeah, just… don't wanna fall off."

Lincoln's eyes softened, knowing just what she meant. When Lincoln had wondered earlier if there was something on the catwalk that made her fall, she had explained about why she tripped, and he completely understood why she had tripped, but more importantly, why she didn't want to fall again. "Hey, it's okay. I'll make sure you don't fall. Apparently, that's what I'm here for."

She couldn't help but laugh at his joke, which only made him smile more. "Thanks, Lincoln. For helping me before, and… for helping me now."

His cheeks lit up a little, hers doing the same. "I-It's okay…"

Eventually, they all reached the food court, and after following Jen and Leni for a little bit, they eventually found their destination- a Chinese restaurant named_ Dim Yum!_. The Chinese aesthetic was clear, with the outside of the building having Chinese lanterns hanging from the roof, with the red and brown walls and green roof that made it look like it resembled a Chinese bell tower, as well as the sign being in a yellow Chinese American font. They joined the back of the queue, which Leni assured them was "surprisingly small for this time of day". Whilst waiting, Leni turned to Jordan and asked, "so, do you think you'll wear that more often?"

"Maybe," she replied. "I do like how it looks on me, but I don't know when I would wear it."

"Well, you should totes consider it. You look so cute like that!"

While Jen smirked at seeing her younger sister blush, a glance at the boy next to her made him look away slightly, which made her smirk grow. 'Something tells me he might agree on that,' she cheekily thought, storing it away for later.

The line began moving again, and the group of four found themselves at the front, where the hostess- a woman with brown pigtails wearing a white shirt, black trousers and shoes, plus blue eyeshadow and red lipstick, greeted them by bowing her head. "Welcome to Dim Yum! Do you have a reservation?"

"We should have one for a table for four," Jen explained. "Under the names, 'Rosato and Loud'."

The waitress looked through her list, smiling when she found the names. "Yes, there we go. A table should be available right now, so if you would please follow me."

She led them inside, where they were able to see more of the Chinese aesthetic, such as red walls with golden border, bamboo plants in the corners of the room, Chinese lanterns hanging from above, paintings from different periods on the walls, and yellow folding walls dividing the white cloth covered tables to allow privacy. They sat down in the brown wooden chairs as the hostess handed them a red menu each. "A waiter will be with you shortly."

Giving their thanks to her as she walked away, the Louds and Rosatos began looking through the menu. Fortunately, the menus were in English, so they were able to understand what was on offer, and it made them feel like their mouths were watering. "It all sounds so good," Jordan remarked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't even know what to get," Lincoln added.

"Well, me and Jen are buying, so you guys just pick what you want," Leni replied, though she'd be lying if she said she hadn't had the same thought as them the first time she dined here.

"And after," Jen added, "we'll swing by the smoothie place. A friend of mine works there, and she always gives me a discount."

"Okay," both kids replied to them, before looking back at their menus. As they continued to make their decision, a man with short black hair and glasses, wearing a green dress shirt under a white apron, black trousers and black shoes approached them, holding a pitcher of water in one hand and a notebook and pencil in the other.

"Some water for the table," he told them as he poured the water into their glasses, then placed the pitcher in the centre of the table before preparing to write something down. "Are you ready to order?"

"I'll have the wonton soup, followed by the chicken with string beans, please," Leni ordered first.

"I'll have the shrimp toast, and then go with the sweet and sour chicken," Jen was next to order.

"Uh, could I go with the spring roll appetiser, and the spicy mala beef?" Lincoln asked.

"Of course, sir," the waiter replied, jotting everything down as he turned to Jordan. "And you, miss?"

"Honestly, I'm still a little uncertain," she confessed, feeling a little nervous now the waiter was here. "I guess I'll start with the chicken noodle soup, and I think I'll go for chow mein… but I don't know which one."

"Might I recommend the house special? It's tasty, and good for a first time customer."

The small wink he added made her giggle a little, before deciding, "sure, that sounds nice."

"Ooh! Can we get some fortune cookies for after?" Leni spoke up.

"Of course. I'll bring your first course out when it's ready for you."

They offered their thanks once again as he walked away, taking their menus with him. After taking a sip from her water, Jordan turned to the two older girls. "You guys did really good today," she told them, making Leni's smile grow. "The outfits looked great."

"Aww, thank you, Jordan!" She replied. "Honestly, you looked so good up there."

"Yeah," Jen agreed, a bit of a grin on her face. "Seems all that practice paid off, huh, sis?"

She gave a bit of a groan, throwing her head back. "I still hate you for filming me."

"Oh, come on, you were having fun with it. Don't pretend otherwise." Ignoring the eye roll her sister gave her, she turned to the boy. "Still, shame you didn't get to show off your outfit more. Then again, I don't think anyone's gonna forget what you did."

His cheeks turned pink again as he looked away. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not," he muttered. "Honestly, I just kind of… acted."

"Yeah, and I told you. You 'acting' saved her. We're all grateful for what you did."

"Well… you're welcome. Still, it was all kind of a blur… one second I'm just walking, and the next, that happened."

"Well, maybe that's your dodgeball training kicking in." The table went silent after that, the Loud boy looking tense at hearing this. "I mean, I don't know much about sports, but I'm sure Lynn would say something like that, right? She'd be so proud of you for what you did."

"Y-yeah… something like that…"

Leni smiled, thinking she had caught on, not knowing that Jordan and Jen were also acting slightly odd- the former biting the inside of her lip, while the latter was drumming her fingers against the table. Before anyone could say anything else, she stood up. "I'm gonna go use the restroom real quick."

They nodded to her, and once she had walked away, Lincoln turned his head and saw an almost expectant look in Jen's eyes. "I know what you're going to say-"

"Why haven't you told her the truth?" She asked, ignoring his attempt to avoid this conversation. "I agreed not to tell her because Jordan asked me, but I don't get it." He looked down at the table in an attempt to avoid her gaze. "Look, I'm not trying to make thinks tougher, but… can you at least tell us why?"

He looked back up slightly, seeing that Jen had softened her gaze slightly, and when he looked at Jordan, he saw the same gaze, but with her smiling encouragingly. He gave a sigh, before looking back down at the table. "My sisters… they've not been the most… supportive of some of my other hobbies." The two Rosato girls looked at each other, confused, but knew that Lincoln wasn't done speaking yet. "I know it sounds stupid, but… with nine sisters who each have their own different interests, it's hard to talk to them about stuff that they aren't as interested in, and I don't want them to judge me for being into this."

"Okay, I kind of get that, and I don't know what it's like to deal with ten siblings, so… let me ask you this. Do you really think Leni would judge you?"

He gulped, knowing that question was coming. "Well… Leni can be a bit…"

"Ditzy?"

He shook his head. "There are times where she can be… swayed. She doesn't like to cause an argument, so sometimes, she just goes with the others." Jen nodded, having noticed that on occasion in school. "But, I'm not as worried about her judging me, not as much as my other sisters, for sure. I just… don't want her to let it slip."

"Let it slip?"

Jen looked at her sister, who was confused by the boy's statement. "Leni means well, but she sometimes forgets not to say things."

Looking to Lincoln, Jordan saw him nod. "Oh… so, you're worried she might tell the others?"

Again, he nodded. "You probably think the worst of me for this."

She shook her head at him. "I don't. I don't think less of you for not knowing how your sisters will react, or for worrying about it." She leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder, making him look her in the eye. "I just don't want you to lose your bond with them by not telling them before it's too late."

He looked at her for a few seconds, taking her words in with careful thought, before smiling and lifting his hand to put it on top of hers. "Thanks, Jordan."

* * *

Leni returned shortly after that, and it wasn't long before they found themselves digging in to the respective meals, which were as delicious as Leni had hyped them up to be. They had a good time chatting whilst they eat, and a few laughs were sent towards Lincoln after he found out why it was called the 'spicy' mala beef, but he laughed it off. He didn't, however, laugh as much when him and Jordan both got the same fortune in their cookies, which read 'someone you know will soon mean more to you than you had once thought'. They didn't let it get them down, though, claiming that it was just a coincidence, and that they had both received the same fake fortune by pure chance.

After a delicious meal, they were walking towards the smoothie place, but Lincoln was dragging behind slightly, his thoughts having returned to what Jen and Jordan had talked with him about. He knew they were right about what they were saying, but that didn't stop his mind being divided about it like a figurative devil and angel on his shoulders each telling him the opposite thing to do, which made it all the harder for him to decide what to do.

"Linky?" He heard Leni ask, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What kind of smoothie do you want?"

"Oh, uh… one sec." He looked up at the sign, and saw what was available. "I'll just get a strawberry smoothie."

"Okay!"

Looking back at his sister, he saw how happy she was, and he didn't want to ruin that mood for her… but for the first time in a week, the angel telling him to come clean was speaking louder to him than the devil telling him not to, and he wanted them to just be quiet, so he made a decision. "Hey, Jen?" He told the older Rosato girl. "Me and Leni are gonna… grab a table, or something. Is that okay?"

Sensing the nervousness in his voice, she knew what he really meant, so she agreed. "No problem. Me and Jordan will come find you once we've got the smoothies, okay?"

He nodded, then turned to Leni and said, "come on." She followed after her brother to an available food court table, where they sat down opposite each other. He opened his mouth to speak, but he felt as if his throat had gone dry, making him close his mouth again, which Leni caught onto.

"Lincoln? Are you okay?"

"Uh… y-yeah, I… I kind of need to tell you something."

"Oh! Well, what is it?" Watching as her brother again failed to get his words out, she gave a gentle, caring smile and leaned forward so he could know that he had her full attention. "Linky, it's okay. You can tell me."

Seeing how considerate she was being made him feel a bit more guilty about what he was about to tell her, but it also gave him the push he need. "… you know how, for the last few weeks, I've been going to dodgeball practice?" She nodded at him, and after taking one last deep breath, he looked down at the table and continued to tell her, "well I haven't. This whole time, I've been lying to all of you."

Her smile dropped, but not in a disappointed way- rather, in a confused way. "You haven't? But, I thought that you always went to practice with Jordan and her friends?"

"… I do… but it's not to dodgeball practice. It's for something else." She was going to ask him something, but he hadn't finished speaking. "The only reason I told you and the girls that I had been going to dodgeball practice was because… I'm scared of how they'll react when they learn the truth."

Her gaze softened as a frown grew, like she would if she saw a sad puppy or one of her sisters or her brother were hurt. "Linky… you don't need to hide it from me. You can tell me, okay? Please?"

He looked back up slightly, seeing his older sister looking at him, her soft eyes showing that she cared, but he was still wary of what her eyes would tell him after he came clean, so he looked down at his hands on the table. "The truth is… I've been doing gymnastics the whole time." He didn't say anything else, just letting those words hang in the air. He'd be lying if he didn't feel like some weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but not hearing his sister reply either had him worried, and just when he was about to speak again, he heard what he was dreading to hear- he heard her laugh.

Except… it didn't sound like she was laughing at him. No, it sounded more… pained? Lifting his head again, he saw her looking down now, with a smile that didn't look happy. "I'm such an idiot," she finally spoke, much to the surprise of Lincoln. "I can't believe I didn't realise it."

"What do you mean?"

She wiped away the tear that was starting to well up in her eye, then looked at her brother. "Jen's told me in the past that Jordan does gymnastics, but when you told me that you were doing dodgeball, I just figured, 'oh, so she does two sports! Cool!' I didn't even think you might have been lying. Guess I really am just a dumb blonde."

That one stung Lincoln, making his heart sink. "Leni, I'm sorry… I wasn't going to lie at first, I swear. I was going to tell you what I was really doing, but… something Jordan's mom told me made me start to worry about how you and the others would react, you know? Like the… the toilet incident?" This time, Leni knew what Lincoln was referring to, and it made her frown grow deeper, while her hands lifted up to cup over her mouth as the tears started coming through. "Leni, please don't cry. It's not your fault, it's mine. I was an idiot."

She shook her head vigorously, a few tears flying either side. "No, it is my fault! I laughed at you before, and it made you not trust me. I haven't been fair to you. You'd never laugh at me for anything I like."

Though her hands muffled her voice, he heard her, and it broke his heart, making tears of his own start to pour down his face. "Leni… please, look at me." Hearing his choked up voice made her oblige, lowering her hands which allowed him to take hold of them. "I made a mistake by not telling you and our sisters the truth from the start, and I'm so sorry for that. I've made it harder for me to tell them now, and I know I've probably taken way too long to tell them, but I don't know how to tell them. I'm scared, Leni- not just of them laughing at me, but of them being disappointed in me. That's why I took so long, okay?"

Unable to hold back, she got up and walked around so she could pull her brother up into a hug. "I could never be disappointed in you, Linky. Not over this. I love you too much, and I'm so, so sorry if I helped to make you feel this way."

He wrapped his hands around her, his tears streaming by this point. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"

She began to stroke his hair, sniffling as she tried to slow her tears down. "Don't be. I'm your big sister, Linky. I shouldn't have made you feel like that, and I know I can't change anything that happened, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you for doing gymnastics."

"Y-you are?"

She nodded and loosened her hug so he could look up at her. "I am… because if it makes you happy, then that's all that matters." This finally got him to smile, so she leaned her head down and kissed him on his snowcap hair. "I love you, Linky."

"I love you too, Leni."

* * *

It was later on when the two Loud siblings returned home, being dropped off by Jen and Jordan's mother. After waving goodbye to their friends, Lincoln started to walk inside, but Leni stopped him. "Linky, can we talk quickly?" She asked.

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to say again that I'm not mad at you for not telling me the truth about gymnastics, and that I'm totes thankful you told me."

He gave a bit of a frown. "I still feel bad about it."

"I know you do, and I know you'll figure out how to tell the others eventually. I won't tell them, or at least, I'll try not to." She rubbed the back of her head as she added, "I know I can be a bit forgetful at times, and I know that you're worried that-"

"Hey." She stopped what she was saying and looked back at her brother, whose frown had turned into a soft smile. "I'm just thankful you're trying for me."

She gave him another smile and a hug. "Come on. Let's go inside."

As Lincoln walked in with his sister, he felt a bit better about the whole situation- he knew that some of his sisters would be harder to talk to or to find the time to talk to them, and that it might not always go this smoothly… but knowing that Leni was okay with it made him feel just that bit more confident. Sooner or later, he would let them all know.


	46. Ch 46- Sisters United

**(A/N: hey, guys! Hope you all had a good holiday season, and thanks to everyone who read my Christmas stories. I've finally gotten my last assignment done for this semester, so I'll try and get as much written before the next semester, and will try and get a more regular upload schedule going. In the meantime, thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

"See you later, Leni!"

"Later, guys!" Leni smiled to herself as she walked towards her house, having been dropped off by Miguel's mom after a successful shift at Reininger's. She had taken the shift that day so that one of her co-workers could go to an appointment- 'I think it was her dentist,' she remembered thinking- and because it was a Sunday, that meant it was what she called a 'beasy' day, meaning that it was an easy busy day. It wasn't as hectic as it was on a Saturday, which was the typically busy day of the week at the department store, but there were more customers there than there were on a typical weekday. This meant that she didn't get bored at work, but she didn't have to work non-stop, and that was her favourite kind of work day. 'Plus, I was able to get these great shorts and tank tops for Linky,' she thought, looking into her bag at her purchases. 'Now he has more stuff to use for gymnastics, and he doesn't have to wear the same clothes as he does at school for practice.'

When Leni had gotten home after the fashion show, the blonde had felt a weird kind of happiness. Of course, there was a whole lot of pride over how well the fashion show had gone, and she was so grateful that her little brother had opened up to her. At the same time, however, there was a part of her that felt… different. She wasn't entirely sure how to put it, but it felt like concern, and she thought it might have been to do with the fact she now had a big responsibility to hold by not letting his secret out.

She put that thought to one side as she opened the front door, being greeted with the usual loud sounds of her family, from the twins arguing over the remote and Lori gushing to Bobby over the phone, to Luan telling her jokes and Lily blissfully cooing while playing with her blocks. "I'm back!" She declared as she shut the door behind her, though no one looked up from what they were doing. Looking around, she saw that her brother was nowhere to be seen, so she headed upstairs, only to see his room was empty. She scratched her head in confusion, then turned and saw Luna heading into her room, so she walked up to the rocker and asked her, "hey, do you know where Linky is?"

"Dude, he's at practice, remember?" She told her older sister, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right! Thanks, Luna. I'll give him these when he gets back from gymn-"

She caught herself as she realised what she was about to say, but Luna had started to catch onto it. "What was that?"

"I said, um, I'll give him these when he gets back from… the gymnasium! Yeah, no point going there to give him them if he'll be back soon, right?" She gave a nervous chuckle, which Luna stared at her dubiously for, but only for a second before returning to her room. Once the door was shut, Leni exhaled. 'Great going, me!' she mentally scolded, heading into her room and collapsing on her bed. 'It's not even been one day, and you almost spilled it! No wonder Linky took so long to tell you, if you're just going to blab it out to everyone! Might as well go on Twitbook and post, 'proud of my baby brother for telling me he does gymnastics! Hashtag, 'oops'!' A heavy sigh escaped her lips as a frown took over her face. 'Maybe he shouldn't have told me yet… he should have waited until he told the others before he told me, that way I wouldn't ruin it for him.' She took a deep breath through her nose, exhaling as she sat back up with a determined expression on her face. 'No, Leni! Don't be thinking that! He trusted you enough to tell you the truth, so now you have to do what you can to help him! And that means not telling anyone… but maybe there's something else I can do to help him.'

She got up from her bed and went onto the landing, walking until she reached the middle bedroom. She knocked on the door, which opened enough for the fashionista to see that the jock was not inside. Leni hadn't seen the fifth eldest sister when she got back from Reininger's, and she wasn't in the living room, so she figured that-

"Lynn's in the basement," a voice behind her spoke, interrupting her thoughts and making her yelp. When she saw it was Lucy, she started to calm down, her hand over her heavily beating chest. "She's training for basketball, her coach is letting her go back to practice this week."

"Oh… okay… Thanks, Lucy." The goth wordlessly nodded before heading into her room, leaving Leni to steady her breathing. Once she had collected herself, she headed downstairs, then went through the dining room and kitchen to get to the basement stairs. As she made her way down, she could hear Lynn counting her reps, soon seeing that the brunette was squatting with a weighted barbell on her shoulders. She got to the bottom just as Lynn put the barbell down, panting slightly from her workout. "Hey, Lynn?"

She turned to see Leni standing there, a small smile on her face. "Hey, Leni," she said to her older sister. "What's up? You guys don't tend to come down here unless you're looking for something."

"Actually, Lynn, I was wondering if we could talk," Leni explained, the younger girl detecting the serious tone in her voice.

"Oh! Yeah, sure. I was just wrapping up my workout, anyway." She lifted the barbell in deadlift fashion, placing it back on its rest before sitting down on her workout bench. "So, you wanna talk here, or-"

"Here's probably best."

Hearing this, Lynn gave a small smile. "I think I know what this is… you want me to help you workout, don't you?" She gave a small laugh, not noticing Leni was trying to tell her something. "You know, I was wondering when one of you girls would join me and Linc. I can help you build some muscle, but it won't happen overnight."

"Thanks, but that's not it," Leni ascertained. "I get sweaty enough at dance class, I don't need more workouts."

Lynn's smile dropped, slightly disappointed about that. "Oh… well then, what do you wanna talk about?"

"It's… it's about Linky." Lynn tensed slightly, having an idea what this might relate to but deciding to be patient enough to hear it for herself. "Yesterday, after the fashion show, we went to the mall to celebrate, and he ended up telling me that he does gymnastics."

"Wait… he told you? For real?" Leni nodded, making Lynn's smile return. "No way! Way to go, bro. So, how did you feel about it?"

"Well, I was a little upset that he didn't tell me straight away, but after he explained why, I totally got it, and I'm happy he told me."

"And you don't mind that he…"

"Of course not. He's my baby brother, and if it makes him happy, then I'm happy too."

"Glad to hear it. So, I'm guessing there's more to it than you just wanting to tell me this."

Leni nodded, sitting down next to Lynn on the bench. "I want to try and help Linky. He trusted me enough to tell me, and I want to help him tell the others."

Lynn looked down at her hands, patting them slightly on her legs. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I know he's worried about how everyone's gonna react, but if he leaves it too long, it might make things worse."

"Exactly! It's like when there's a sale- if you wait too long to get something, you might miss out." Lynn looked at the blonde, surprised by the eloquence of her analogy. "Still, what can we do to help him?"

"Well, he can either tell them one at a time, or he can tell them all at once, though by this point, I don't think he's gonna tell them all at once. Thing is, though, he has to figure out how he's going to tell them, so there's nothing we can do there."

"Oh…"

Both girls deflated a little, feeling at a slight loss now. A moment later, however, Lynn's head snapped up and her eyes lit up. "But maybe we can figure out _who_ he should tell."

The high schooler turned to her, a confused expression on her face. "I don't get it."

"Meet me in my room in five minutes. I need to take care of something real quick."

* * *

When Leni eventually went into the room shared by the jock and the goth, she saw that Lynn was stood in front of a whiteboard, a marker in her hand. She saw Leni open the door and small her. "There you are. Come here." Leni obliged, walking over to the whiteboard. "One sec." She then grabbed a sign off of her desk- though, it was little more than string attached to a piece of paper which read _KEEP OUT_\- and put it on the outside door handle, then closed the door so everyone else knew. "Okay, no one's gonna bother us. I told Lucy to keep out while we talk about this, and no one else really comes in here."

"Okay. So… what are we doing?"

Lynn donned a smirk as she tapped the marker against the whiteboard. "Last year, when I captained my basketball team, I had to decide which position my teammates would take, and to do that, I had to weigh out their strengths and weaknesses, which- no offence to them, but- they had quite a few weaknesses. That's what we're gonna do."

"We're gonna put our sisters on a basketball team?"

The palm of Lynn's hand met her face, a slight groan of irritation escaping her. "Okay, let me put it a bit more clearly. Lincoln needs to figure out which of our sisters to tell next, so we're gonna help him figure that by weighing out their pros and cons."

"Oh! That's, like, so smart!"

"Glad you understand. So, let's start with Lisa and work our way up the ranks, 'kay? No point worrying about Lily, she's too young to get any of this." Leni nodded, then watched as Lynn placed a picture of the four-year-old on the whiteboard with some blue tack, writing the words _**pros**_ and _**cons**_ as headers of a table next to it. "Alright, what do we got?"

The blonde's face scrunched you as she started to think. "Um… oh, she's smart! She, like, totally understands everything, so she'd probably understand if he told her."

"That's true." She wrote _understanding _in the _**pros**_ column. "But, she's blunt. Doesn't really care for how people feel all that much. She also doesn't care for keeping secrets." She added _inconsiderate_ and _bad at secrets_ to the other column. "Anything else?"

"I'm sure she'd be interesting in helping him. She knows a lot about science."

"Yeah, but that's not necessarily a good thing. She might use it as a reason for some experiment of hers." She thought for a few seconds before adding a _**other**_ column next to the other two, and wrote _science_ under it. "Alright, think that's enough for her. Do me a favour and take a picture of this." Leni nodded, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the whiteboard before Lynn rubbed out everything in the columns and took down Lisa's picture, replacing it with another. "Alright, next we've got Lola. What do we got for her?"

"Well… he's her pageant coach. Maybe him doing gymnastics can help her with that?"

Lynn nodded, writing that down as a pro. "Good point. On the other hand, though, she's not the most mature. If she doesn't gossip this to her friends, she could use it to blackmail him."

"Would she really do that?"

"She's done so with less." She wrote down the three cons, before realising something else. "She tends to blow whenever she realises she's not the first to find something out, so things might not go so smoothly for Link."

"Oh, yeah…"

Lynn wrote it down, and she repeated the process- once Leni had taken the photo, she cleared the table and took down the photo to put another in its place, this time of Lana. "So, Lana's just as immature as Lola, so she might react the same… although, given what a tomboy she is, she might relate to him better, since he's doing something that ain't exactly 'for boys'. She might understand better."

"Totally," Leni agreed as Lynn wrote both points on the board. "Also, she totally looks up to Linky. He's like her favourite sibling."

The jock gave a slight scoff. "I think that goes for pretty much all of us. Still, you make a good point." She wrote it down under _**pros**_, then thought. "I think that about sums up Lana here. You got anything else?"

Leni thought for a moment before responding, "nope." Once again, she took the photo so Lynn could wipe the board clean and replace the grease monkey's picture with Lucy's. "I got it! Lucy loves poetry, so she cares a lot about feelings and stuff."

"That's true. Plus, same as Lana, the stuff she likes ain't typically for girls, so she can relate to him there." She wrote down the two pros, before turning her sights to the _**cons**_ column. "On the other hand, she talks to herself when she's doing poetry and stuff, so if she wrote about it, someone might hear her. Actually… now that I think about it, she keeps a diary."

"So?"

"So… if someone finds it, and she's written about Lincoln, the whole thing might come out. We all know that's a habit of Lola's." Leni frowned, now realising what she meant as she wrote the two cons on the board. "Alright, we're halfway there." Resetting the board for a fourth time, she grabbed a new picture and started to put it up. "Now, we've got Luan. With all of her jokes, she might not take him seriously."

"True… plus, I'd hate for her to prank Linky because this." Lynn nodded, as she wrote both their points down. "But, she's one of his older sisters. We've all known him since he was born, and she doesn't like hurting people on purpose, especially him." Lynn nodded again, adding that to the other column. She was about to suggest they move on, but Leni thought of something else. "Ooh! Also, she's a clown!"

"Eh, we've kind of covered the 'not serious' thing."

"No, not that! She goes to that clown school… I forget what it's called."

The middle schooler's eyes widened as she got what the older girl was trying to say. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that! She's mentioned that they do loads of acrobatic stuff there, so she probably understands why he likes it. Might even be able to teach him a thing or two. Good call." She wrote that down as well, before letting Leni take a picture, then clearing the table and switching the photos. "What about Luna?"

"Linky and her have always gotten on so well, ever since he was a little baby."

"Yeah, they are pretty close. Kinda surprises me she hasn't been told yet." She shrugged that off as she wrote Leni's suggestion down. "Not to mention, she wasn't much younger than him when she found rock music, so she can relate to him there."

"And she's so chill, too." Once again, the girl in red wrote these down under _**pros**_. "Are there any cons for her?"

"Well, none of us are perfect. She's not as bad as Lola or Lori can be, but she's a bit of a gossip. Might let it slip without thinking."

'Yeah… let it slip…' Leni thought, thinking back to her earlier worries, before shaking it off. She took the photo so Lynn could reset the board. "So, it's just Lori left, right?"

"Yep," she replied, putting up the last photo of the eldest sibling. "Alright, like I said, she's a gossip- always talking on social media and with her friends about stuff she shouldn't."

"It's true. Plus, she can be so scary at times, she might make him too scared to tell her."

"That's assuming he can get her off her phone long enough to focus on him."

"Yeah…" As she watched her sister add these to the cons, she started thinking about the other side of things. "On the other hand… she is the oldest. She's helped to look after him since he was a baby, and she does care about him."

"Yeah, that's true, I guess," she remarked, before putting up the con. "Alright, think that covers it." So, Leni took the photo, and Lynn wiped the board clean. "You know, you really knew what you were talking about there, Leni! I wouldn't have seen some of those."

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah. I know we don't give you credit for it, but you're pretty smart when it comes to certain things." The fashionista beamed, about to thank her younger sister when they heard the front door shut. "What time is it?"

"It's, like, quarter past five."

"That must be Link, then. Come on." As she and her older sister exited the room, they saw Lincoln coming up the stairs. "Hey, bro! You got a-" He ignored her, instead heading into his room and closing the door with a bit of a slam. "Minute?"

"Is Linky okay?" The fashionista asked out of concern, to which the brunette could only shrug.

"I dunno, but we can ask him later. We should let him relax for now." Leni accepted with a nod, walking away and leaving Lynn to wonder, 'what was that all about?'

* * *

After he had his shower and got changed into his nightwear, Lincoln joined his sisters on the couch to watch Dream Boat. A couple of them noticed that he was quieter than usual, with him giving them a brief "I'm fine" when any of them asked if he was okay. He was also noticeably quiet during dinner, only saying that practice was "okay", but no one questioned him about it, and as soon as they were allowed to leave the table, he quickly and silently made his way to his room, planning to get his homework done. As he pulled his maths sheet out and started to work on it, he heard his door open.

"Who is it?" He asked, not looking up from his work.

"Just us," Lynn told him, making him look and see her stood next to Leni, the latter giving a smile and a wave. "Mind if we talk?"

"Uh… sure, just close the door." She obliged, closing the door while he turned his chair to face the two girls. "So, what's up?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you. Everything okay at practice?"

"Y-yeah, fine."

Leni put a hand on his shoulder, lowering slightly to look him in the eyes. "You know you can tell us, right, Linky?"

"I know. Seriously, I'm fine, just a bit tired. So… is that all you came for?"

"Actually, bro, it's not. Leni and I were talking earlier, and she told me that you told her your secret yesterday- which, by the way, I'm proud of you for." He gave a small smile at the praise, then let Lynn continue to speak. "Anyway, we were talking, and we think we've come up with something to help you."

"What do you mean?" Lynn turned to Leni, who pulled out her phone and started to show Lincoln the photos she took earlier. "What am I looking at here?"

"If you're going to tell the others about what you've been doing, you need to decide who to tell next." He started to understand as he looked at the different lists of pros and cons of each sister. "I know it isn't that straightforward, and we can't tell you how to tell them… we just want to help. Just because you do gymnastics instead of dodgeball doesn't mean you have anything to be ashamed of, no matter what they think."

"We all love you, Linky," Leni chimed in. "If it makes you happy, then we're happy."

He took a moment to take it all in, seeing the smiles the two gave him and thinking about what they said, before smiling himself. "I can't believe you did all this for me," he told them. "Thank you."

"No problem, Linky." The blonde scooped him up into a hug which he happily returned, and while Lynn was content with just smiling, she didn't resist when Leni pulled her into the hug as well, even joining in on it. When they eventually split, Leni went back on her phone. "I'll send you the photos so you can choose for yourself."

When he heard his phone go off, he opened the message he got and saw the photos Leni had shown them. "Got them. Thanks."

"No problem. So, are you sure you're okay, Linky?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired."

"Alright, we'll let you get on with your 'nerdwork', bro," Lynn told him, making him roll his eyes. "Come find me if you wanna talk, 'kay?"

"Alright. Night, girls." They left his room, shutting the door behind him as he turned back to his desk with a bit of a smile. It was nice that they had done that for him, and it made him feel better after…

He shook his head and picked up his pen again, hoping to drown out his thoughts with math.


	47. Ch 47- Playing Hookie?

Monday morning came, and as was typical, the school began to fill with students, many of them not willing to be there and wishing they were at home instead. Still, they didn't make too much fuss about it, putting their things in their lockers and taking their seats in their classrooms. As the children in the fifth grade classroom chatted with each other while waiting for their teacher to arrive, Mollie looked away from her friends in time to see Jordan walk in, clutching tightly on the straps of her backpack while she made her way to her seat next to the brunette. "Hey, girl," Mollie greeted. "You're normally here before I get here. What, did your alarm not go off or something?" When she didn't get a response, she looked at the girl's face and noticed that she seemed a bit spaced out. "Jordan!"

Hearing her friend speak a bit louder snapped her out of her trance, turning to her friend. "What did you say?" She asked, concerning her friend.

"Did you not sleep or something, Jordan? You seem kind of out of it."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just… didn't wake up great."

"You sure? Because you seem pretty-" She paused as a grin took over her face. "Oh, I get it. Is this because of what happened yesterday?"

The girl's cheeks turned pink, her hands raised to cover her face. "Oh my God, please stop!"

"What's up with Jordan?" they heard Joy ask from the seat behind Mollie.

"Oh, she's still embarrassed after her kiss yesterday."

Jordan gave her friend a rough push on the shoulder, glaring at her while her cheeks grew even more flush. "Shut up! I don't want everyone hearing about this!"

"Relax, no one's paying attention. Besides, you've kind of just proven me right."

A groan escaped the girl, who put a hand on her forehead as she held her head low. "Honestly, I just want to forget about it." But even as she said that, her brain chose to mess with her, as the memory of what happened reappeared in her mind.

* * *

"_Okay, everyone!" Chris announced, bringing the water break to an end. "Now, we're gonna work on lifting. Gather round on the floor." They all walked over the floor, standing in a messy line in front of their coach. "Now, for some of you, this will be your first time doing a lift like this, so we're going to walk through it slowly. The key to a successful lift comes down to precision, balance and trust, both from the person being lifted and the person or people holding them up. You need to place your feet in the exact right positions to keep balanced as a group, so that the person being lifted doesn't fall. As for trust, the person being lifted has to trust that they won't be dropped, and the people lifting them up have to trust that person to trust them back. It can seem a bit daunting, but as long as you trust each other, then you can make it work. So, let's start with a simple two person lift. Pair up with someone of similar size.'_

_As the kids began to decide who to pair up with, Jordan saw that her friends were already pairing up, until she saw Lincoln approach. "Hey, uh, mind if I pair with you?"_

_She smiled and told him, "sure!"_

"_Alright, is everyone paired up?" Looking round and seeing all eyes were on him once more, Chris nodded. "Okay, good. So, between you, pick a 'lifter' and a 'liftee'. The lifter should get down to one knee, and hold their hands up. The liftee should use their thigh like a step, place their other foot on the other person's shoulder, take their hands and lift their foot up from their knee until it's straight. Let's see what you can do."_

_Lincoln turned to Jordan. "So… should I lift you?"_

"_Sure. We'll probably end switching after, so I can show you how to do it right after."_

"_Har, har." _

_Though he was mildly annoyed by the joke, the giggle she gave made him smile anyway. He got down onto his knee and held his hands up. After placing her foot on his thigh, she stepped up to put her other foot on his shoulder, grabbing his hands before extending her left leg up and out. Their arms shook a bit as they held the lift, though they were able to hold it for a few seconds before Jordan stepped back down. "Not bad, Lincoln."_

"_Thanks."_

"_Alright, nice work, everyone. Let's try it the other way round now, so if you were lifted just now, you're gonna lift your partner in the same way, okay? Give it a go."  
_

_So, Jordan got down onto her knee and held up her hands for Lincoln to grab. Like she had before, he placed his foot on her thigh, placed his other on her shoulder, took hold of her hands and lifted his leg up from her thigh, shaking a little as he tried to hold the position but managing to do so for a good amount of seconds before stepping back down. "Okay, good work. Everyone feel okay with that one?" When no one said otherwise, he continued. "Alright, let's try something different. One of you will sit down with your hands and legs out in front of you. The other will take their hands, then the first person will lean back and use their legs to lift you up. Your feet should be pressing against their waist. Understand? Alright, let's try that."_

_So, everyone got started on that. Jordan decided to lift Lincoln first this time, so once she was sat down, he took hold of her hands and allowed her to lift him up, her feet carefully holding him up by the waist. Though he still felt shaky, he felt like he trusted Jordan enough to not drop him, and they held it for long enough before she put him back down. Once again, they switched places, with Lincoln on the ground this time. He took her hands, positioned his feet and leaned back. When she was in the air, however, one of his feet slipped, and before either of them realised it, she crashed down on top of him, taking the wind out of both of them. The others had seen and gathered round to see if they were alright, but they didn't hear them, even when they gasped at what they saw. They were both a bit disoriented at first, but they eventually felt something against their… lips?_

_They both opened their eyes, and saw that their faces were right against each other's, with their lips touching together. This made their eyes shoot wide open and their faces turn pure red, so Jordan immediately rolled off and got up, allowing him to do the same, neither looking at each other._

'_I can't believe that just happened!'_

* * *

"It was so awkward!" Jordan sighed, her forehead meeting her desk. "He wouldn't talk to me the whole ride home, but we had to act like everything was okay as his mom dropped me off."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Joy assured him.

"Yeah, I bet he's already forgotten all about it," Mollie added. "You know what guys are like, and he has ten sisters to keep up with. He's probably not even gonna bring it up."

'That's what worries me,' Jordan thought to herself, her eyes casting over to where the boy in question usually sat, noticing the empty chair. 'Where is he?'

"Alright, class," they heard their teacher announce as she walked in, silencing all chatter. "I'm not in a great mood today, so let's get things done without playing around." She pulled the register out of her desk and read out the names one by one, waiting for them to say something along the lines of "here" or "present". When she read Lincoln's name out and heard nothing, she looked up and saw the unoccupied desk. "McBride, is Loud supposed to be away today?"

"Uh, I don't think so," Clyde told the teacher. "Though, I haven't spoken to him much this weekend."

"I see. Well, I'll speak to Sheryl in a moment to clarify. Anyway…"

As she continued with the register, Jordan couldn't help but feel a small pit in his stomach. 'He's not here… it's not… because of me, is it?'

* * *

That thought proved to stick around with her throughout the day, as during her classes, when she was doing work or trying to listen to her teachers, it would pop up at different moments, distracting her from what she was doing, saying or thinking. She got called out on it once by Mrs Johnson, but the teacher let it go without too much discussion, allowing the thought to distract her once again. Even as she sat in the cafeteria, her friends chatting across the table with each other, she simply sat and looked at the plate of pasta on her tray, twiddling it a little with her fork.

It wasn't long before Mollie noticed. "Hello! Earth to Jordan!" She said somewhat loudly, snapping the girl from her thoughts. "What is up with you?"

"It's nothing," the girl replied, somewhat quietly.

"Come on, you've been quiet all day," Kat pointed out.

"Yeah, what's the matter, girl?" Joy asked.

"You can tell us," Sadie insisted.

"Yeah, come on, what is it?" Artie also asked.

"Well…"

When she saw her friend reach to the top of her braided ponytail, Mollie seemed to figure it out. "Is this because of the whole accidental kiss thing?"

"S-sort of…"

"Honestly, Jordan, it wasn't that bad," Artie spoke up. "First time I tried a lift like that, my foot slipped and her foot landed right between my legs, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, we all make mistakes at gymnastics from time to time," Joy agreed. "That's how we get better at it."

"It's not so much about that, it's… more about Lincoln." She could see Kat and Joy share a grinning glance, so she quickly clarified, "NOT like that. I'm just… okay, this is gonna sound stupid, but… I'm worried that he's… playing hookie because of what happened."

"Hookie? You think he's skipping school because you landed on him like that?" The nod Jordan gave Mollie confirmed her theory. "You're right, that does sound stupid, and he'd have to be stupid to do that."

"You think so? Because… honestly, I wouldn't blame him." Her eyes looked down sadly at her now lukewarm pasta. "I didn't exactly make things easy for him after that. Maybe… I dunno."

"Jordan, he's your friend," Sadie reminded her. "He wouldn't let something like that get to him, and he wouldn't skip school over it."

"You think?"

"Yeah, he probably had an appointment or something," Kat suggested. "Plus, I doubt his parents would let him play Hookie."

"But, hey. If you're not sure, why don't you go ask him after school?"

"Artie, I can't just show up at his house unannounced."

"We do that all the time at your house, how is this any different?"

Jordan had to give him that one. "I guess… still, I'd feel awkward if I did that."

"Jordan, trust me," Mollie told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I might not like Loud as much as you do, but he's a cool guy. I doubt he'd mind you dropping by to say hi, and I know he's not trying to avoid you."

Jordan saw that her other friends were smiling, telling her that they agreed, so she smiled back. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate you getting through to me." Just then, an idea came to her. "I'll be right back."

She got up from the table and walked across the cafeteria, eventually reaching the table where Lincoln's friends were sat, chatting and exchanging lunchables. "Hey, Clyde?"

They all looked at her, the McBride child putting down his juice box. "Oh! Hey, Jordan."

"Could you do me a favour?"

"I guess? What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind letting me take Lincoln his homework after school?"

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by the request. "Really? How come?"

"I was… kind of hoping to speak to him about something, and I'd feel too awkward going there otherwise, so I thought maybe if I took his homework, I'd have a reason to go there."

"Oh… well, I don't know…"

"Please, Clyde? You'd be doing me a big favour."

"Well…" As he considered what his fathers would say to him in this situation, he decided to allow it. "Okay. I'll get them out of my locker after school and give them to you then."

Her face lit up. "Thanks, Clyde. I owe you one."

* * *

So, the girl found herself once more at Franklin Avenue, stood on the front porch of the house that her friend was currently in, presumably sick. Now that she was actually there, she felt some of her reserve had seeped away, making her wonder if this was such a good idea. 'Well… you're here now, Jordan,' she reasoned with herself. 'Might as well get it over with.'

So, though she was nervous, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. It didn't take long for it to be answered, the door opening to reveal the third eldest child, the sounds of the rest of the family pouring out, though a bit quieter than usual. When Luna saw the girl, she smiled. "Hey, Jordan!" She greeted. "What brings you here, dudette?"

"Hey… Luna, right?" When the brunette nodded, she cleared her throat before continuing. "I heard at school that Lincoln was sick, so Mrs Johnson asked me to bring him his homework." She knew it wasn't the truth, but she considered it a half lie, which it was in a sense. Plus, it wasn't like the older girl knew otherwise.

"Aww, aren't you a little kindhearted lady? Come on in."

"Thank you." She entered the house, allowing Luna to shut the door behind her. "So, uh, how is he?"

"Well, from what mom's told me, not great, but it should clear in a couple of days."

"Okay, that's good to hear." She took her backpack off her bag and fished her hand into it, pulling out a set of papers kept together with a paperclip. "Here."

"Thanks, bruh." She reached out to grab them, but stopped and pulled her hand back, a bit of a grin appearing on her face. "Actually… I don't suppose you want to see him, do ya?"

Jordan's cheeks turned a bit pink at the tone of her question, her hand reaching to rub the back of her other arm. "Well… I mean, I don't want to disturb him if he's resting or anything."

"Nah, little dude was awake when we got back, and even with everyone keeping things down for him, we'd probably keep him awake anyway."

"Oh. Well… I guess if it's okay. I mean, I know Clyde's probably going to ask me at school tomorrow."

"Sure, it's all good. Head upstairs, then go to the far door on the right."

"Thank you." With that, she put her backpack back on her back and headed up the staircase, heading to the far door on the right of the landing. She saw that it was shut, so she was about to knock, when she heard a throat being cleared, turning her head and looking down to see the resident scientist of the Louds. "Oh, uh, hi?"

"Greetings," the toddler spoke. "I believe you are Jordan, correct?"

"Yeah, that's me. I'm sorry, I can't remember your name, though."

"That's understandable. We haven't formally met, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lisa Loud, Lincoln Loud's second youngest female sibling."

"Oh, of course! You're the scientist, right?"

"A crude description, but nonetheless, that is correct. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

She was surprised when the younger girl extended a hand to her, but decided to shake it anyway. "It's nice to meet you."

"I take it, by your previously raised fist and your current position, that you are here to visit him. If that is so, I would advise you to take this." She then held out a face mask like the kind a doctor would wear, which Jordan tentatively took, a bit confused by the offer. "Though my male sibling unit's ailment should not cause you to contract any of his symptoms, it should prevent you from olfacting the redolence of his ejecta." When she saw the blank stare she got in response, she pinched the bridge her nose tightly and muttered something to herself before looking back to her and clarifying. "It should help you to avoid any unpleasant smells."

"Oh! Oh, okay. Thank you, Lisa."

The little girl simply nodded before returning to her room, leaving Jordan to put the mask on over her face and knock on the door to the sole boy in the house. "Who is it?" She heard a somewhat groggy voice call from inside.

"It's me," Jordan called in. "Can I come in?"

"Um… sure?"

Jordan didn't hesitate to enter, opening the door and allowing herself to see the boy prop himself up, having been laid under his covers. His face was noticeably a bit green in the cheeks, while his eyes were a bit tired. The bin next to his bed had quite a few scrunched up and used tissues in it, and the bowl next to it had a bit of staining on it, showing that it had been used to throw up in. Though it made Jordan gag a little, the mask covered her nose enough so that she couldn't smell it.

"Jordan?" He somewhat weakly spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Lincoln," she softly greeted, closing the door. "I, uh, heard you were sick, so I came to bring your homework from school."

"Oh, uh, thanks. Could you put it on my desk for me?"

"Sure." She put the pile of papers on his desk, then pulled out his desk chair and sat on it, facing the unwell boy. "You don't mind me sitting here, do you?"

"No, not at all. So… how was school?"

"Honestly, it was pretty boring. Nothing much happened, and there weren't any interesting lessons. How was… staying at home all day?"

"Eh, would've been fun, if it weren't for the reason I'm staying home all day."

"Which is?" The second their eyes met again, she regretted saying that. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have-"

"No, it's fine, I don't mind. Basically, last night, I couldn't sleep, so I went to get something to drink. I had some milk which didn't taste right, but I figured that it was just some weird milk dad bought for cooking with. Turns out it wasn't."

* * *

_The alarm ringing in his room caused Lincoln's eyes to groggily open, the boy turning over in his bed. As he threw off the cover, swung his legs over and stood up, he felt dizzy. His head was throbbing, his muscles felt weak, his face was sweaty, and his stomach felt… weird. He wasn't certain what that feeling was at first, but when it felt a bit stronger and it started to rise, he knew what it was, and he knew that he needed to get to the bathroom quickly. As he opened his door and started to stagger out of it, the door on the right opened. Lola stepped out of it, but one look at her brother made her smile drop, so she went back in. The feeling inside him got stronger, so he began to hurry down the landing, ignoring that his legs felt like jello and that he was swaying a bit with each step. When he got nearer to the bathroom, the door to it opened, and as Luan stepped out, Lori tried to step in but was pushed aside by Lincoln, who went in and slammed the door behind him._

"_LINCOLN!" She yelled, banging on the door. "Open this door, RIGHT now, or I am literally going to-"_

_She stopped her tirade when the unmistakable sound of vomiting was heard, making her and the other girls in the queue cringe. They heard it a couple more times, followed by a bit of dry retching, and eventually the flush of the toilet. When the door eventually opened, Lincoln stepped out and said, "all yours," before collapsing on the floor._

* * *

"Oh, boy," Jordan sighed behind her face mask, her eyes visibly cringing. "So, you got food poisoning?"

"Yeah. Mom got a doctor to come round since she had a day off from work today, and he said it was only mild, so I should be better in a couple of days, but it still sucks."

'And here I was thinking he was just trying to avoid me…'

Though he couldn't see her frown, he couldn't help but notice that her eyes seemed… saddened. "Jordan?" She looked up, meeting his concerned gaze. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, uh… yeah, I-I'm…" Finding that she couldn't lie to him while he was like this, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Lincoln."

"For what?"

"For thinking that… that you were just cutting school to avoid me."

He couldn't deny that hearing that didn't suck, but he was more confused than hurt. "Why would I avoid you?"

"Well… I was worried that, after… what happened yesterday… you wouldn't really want to see me."

"Wait, you… you thought I wouldn't want to see you?" She nodded, and neither said anything before he started to chuckle. "I was worried you wouldn't want to see me."

Her eyes blinked, disbelieving what she had heard. "You were?"

"Yeah. I mean, it wasn't your fault I dropped you, it was mine."

"Yeah, but I was the one that made things awkward between us." This led to the two starting to talk over each other, neither really registering what was being said until they both stopped talking at the same time. When they realised what had happened, they both just laughed about it. "So… I guess things are cool between us?"

"Yeah. We're cool."

"Cool!" She felt that she sounded a bit too eager there, so she pretended to cough before calmly adding, "I mean, yeah, cool." As she thought of what to say next, she looked over at his desk and saw that his laptop was open on a video site. "No way! You watch Wingmen too?"

His smile seemed to perk up a little when she said this. "Yeah, I love watching their videos!"

"Me too!"

"Do you want to watch some with me? I mean, I understand if you have to head back home. And I promise, my room doesn't normally smell this bad."

She couldn't help but laugh at his joke, even in this kind of situation. "I think I can stay for a bit, so sure. Do you want me to load it up?"

"Nah, that's okay. Lisa set it up a while back for me, so I can use a remote to it."

"What would you do without a PhD for a four-year-old sister?" They both laughed a bit, before she moved her chair against his bed so that they were both facing the laptop, and as he started the video, she couldn't help but feel glad that she had come to see him.


	48. Ch 48- Girl Talk

**(A/N: hey, everyone! Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story, which has now hit five hundred reviews! I can't believe there have been that many, it's incredible! I'm so grateful for all of this.**

**Also, quick heads up- this chapter should go up on the day I go back to uni, so if things slow down again, my apologies. Once I've finished Journey For Unity, which I currently estimate only has another eight chapters, I'll return to just writing one story at a time, so uploads should be at a better pace then.**

**In the meantime, thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

Tuesday morning came, and Jen Rosato was feeling in good spirits. As she headed out of her room, now fully dressed after her morning shower, she headed downstairs with a spring in her step, heading into the kitchen with a smile on her face. As she sat down at the table, her mom turned around, a pan in her hand frying bacon and a spatula in the other. Another pan was on the stove behind her, cooking some fried eggs. "Morning, sweetie," she greeted.

"Hey, mom," Jen replied.

"You're up early."

"Meh, I slept well last night. Dad go off to work already?"

"Yes, he has. He got called in early for something. Do you know if Jordan is up yet?"

This brought a grin to the high schooler's face. "Yeah, she got in the shower after I was done, so I imagine she should be down in a minute or two."

Sarah raised an eyebrow, bemused by her daughter's tone as she said that. "Okay… well, this bacon is almost ready, so feel free to grab some juice and some toast."

"Thanks, mom." She got up from her seat to go up to the counter, grab some bread from the loaf and put it in the toaster. Pushing down the handle, she then walked over to the fridge and pulled out the carton of orange juice, closing the fridge before setting it down next to the toaster. She pulled a glass out of the cabinet and poured orange juice into it, then returned the carton to the fridge just in time to hear the toaster eject the toast, now perfectly cooked. She put the toast on a plate and placed it and her glass of juice next to her empty plate on the table, sitting down to butter it. Once both slices were buttered, her mother placed three slices of bacon and two fried eggs on the other plate. "Smells great, mom."

"Thanks, Jen. I'm gonna go let your sister know that breakfast is ready. Try not to kill each other, okay?"

"No promises." She gave the woman a chuckle, making her roll her eyes as she walked away. As Jen started assembling her egg and bacon into a sandwich with her toast, she heard her mother calling for her sister, who came down about a half minute later, tying her blue scarf around her neck. "Hey, sis."

"Hey, Jen," she greeted back, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a carton of milk. She took the lid off and gave it a sniff, deciding that it was okay as she put it down, then shut the fridge.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking the milk is okay. Don't want to put it in my cereal if it's gone bad."

"Yeah, that's true, I guess. So, is that why Lincoln got sick?"

The day before, when Jordan has gotten back home after visiting Lincoln, she had told them that he had gotten food poisoning, which was why she had to take him his homework. "Yeah, one of his sisters must have forgotten to throw it out or something."

"That sucks. Still, it's not too serious, right?"

"No, thankfully not." She pulled out a bowl from the cupboard above her and used it to pour in some of her favourite marshmallow cereal, pouring the milk on top before returning it to the fridge. She then grabbed a bottle of water and put it on the table with her bowl of cereal, before sitting down opposite her sister. "He said he should be better in the next couple of days."

"Well, that's good, then. At least your boyfriend won't be out of school for too long."

Jordan's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, shooting a glare to the cockily grinning older girl. "Jen, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend, got it?"

"If you say so." Jordan rolled her eyes as she began to eat her breakfast, with Jen now slicing her complete breakfast sandwich in half, picking up the first piece. "Isn't it getting a bit warm for you to be wearing that scarf?"

"Hmm?" Jordan looked down at the scarf around her neck, gulping down her spoonful of cereal before responding. "Not really. I mean, I know the weather's saying a heatwave's coming, but this is a pretty thin scarf. Besides, I like it."

"I can tell, you've worn it every day since you got it. Lincoln must mean a lot to you, huh?"

"It's not like that!"

"Your bright red cheeks suggest otherwise." Jordan simply started to pout as she ate some more of her cereal. "Come on, what's wrong? Lincoln not a good enough guy for you?"

"That's not what-" She coughed, choking slightly on her cereal before gulping it down and washing it down with her water. "That's not… what I'm saying. Seriously, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Trying to suggest I like Lincoln when I don't."

Jen gave a chuckle, taking another bite of her breakfast sandwich before speaking again. "I'm not trying to give you a hard time or anything. I'm just going to point out that, ever since you two started hanging out more, you've seemed very upbeat. More so than usual, at least."

"I have?" When her older sister nodded, she simply gave a "huh" as she ate some more cereal.

"I'm not saying you've been skipping about, shouting rainbows and kittens or anything cringeworthy. Just that you've definitely seemed a bit happier. Especially yesterday, once you'd got back from visiting the boy."

"Oh… I hadn't noticed. Sure, me and Lincoln have been hanging out more than before, though that's mostly because of gymnastics practice. And, yeah, I guess we've gotten closer since then, but we're just friends. I'm not looking for a boyfriend or anything like that, and I don't want things to get awkward between us."

Jen nodded silently for a few seconds, finishing the first half of her sandwich, making Jordan wonder what she was going to say next. When she finished her bite and drank some more orange juice, she gave a modest smile to her sister. "I get what you're saying. And, seriously, I'm not trying to ruin your day or anything. Just curious, you know? You're my little sister, I wanna know when you've found a guy you like."

Jordan couldn't help but give a small smile at this. "Well… thanks, Jen. Just… try not to tease me so much."

"Can't always promise that." The two sisters laughed, the serious aura in the room fading away before Jen looked her sister in the eye. "Ah, come here." She pushed her plate and glass over to Jordan's side of the table, then got up and walked around to sit next to her sister, pulling the smaller girl into a hug that she returned quite happily. "Just do me a favour- if that changes, the second something happens with you two, I'd better be the first one to know."

With a roll of her eyes, Jordan told her, "whatever you say, sis."

* * *

After the two girls had finished their breakfast, they decided to walk together to school, talking on the way about things like the compliments Jen had received about the fashion show, gymnastics practice and how much more boring middle school will be once Jordan passes sixth grade. Eventually, they reached the elementary school, which was already filling in with students. After waving goodbye to her sister as she headed off to high school, Jordan entered the front doors and immediately joined the ever filling crowd of students to find her locker. She put the books that she wouldn't need for the morning classes and her gymnastics clothes into the locker and took out the ones she would need, putting them into her bag before closing her locker. As she turned to go towards Mrs Johnson's classroom, she saw Clyde and Lincoln's other friends heading towards them.

"Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Howdy, Jordan," Liam greeted back.

"What's up?"

"We wanted to ask you how Lincoln was doing," Stella told the girl. "Apparently, when Clyde tried to call him this morning, Lincoln was asleep or something."

"Yeah. I texted Lincoln this morning to ask him how he was doing, but he only texted me back about a minute ago, so I'm guessing he slept in."

"That makes sense," Clyde reasoned. "Whenever I come down with something, my dads say I should try and sleep it off. So… how was he?"

"Well, he wasn't doing too bad when I saw him, but from what he told me, not great. Apparently, he got food poisoning." The others all winced, mildly disgusted by the image of Lincoln throwing up. "Yeah, I was the same."

"Well, that sucks," Zach sighed, him and the others all giving a frown.

"Fortunately, the doctor told him it wasn't too bad, so he should be better in a day or two."

"Well, that's a relief," Clyde said, giving a small smile. "I was worried it was going to be something serious."

"You're always worrying," Rusty pointed out.

"Never hurts to be cautious."

Stella gave a small smirk as she shook her head at them, before turning to Jordan again. "Well, thanks for letting us know he's doing. Me and Clyde are going to go see him after school. You want to come with us?"

"Thanks, but I have practice later. I might go and see him after practice, but I'll definitely give him a text to see how he's feeling."

"Alright, sure. Well, see you later."

"Okay." So, they headed toward the classroom, with Jordan heading in after them. She took her seat next to Mollie, and while Joy wasn't currently in her seat behind her, Kat was sat behind Mollie and talking with her. "Hey, girls."

They turned to face Jordan, the brunette giving her a grin. "Hey, Jordan," she said to her bestie. "So, how was visiting the sick patient?"

"It was okay. Turns out he had food poisoning, but he should be okay in a day or two."

"See? Told you he wasn't trying to avoid seeing you."

"Yeah, you're right. We talked about it, and everything's cool."

"I bet he's feeling better after a visit from nurse Jordan, though," Kat teased, her grin matching Mollie's. "Though, I'm guessing this wasn't something you could kiss to make it better."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Jordan grumbled, easily getting where they were going with this. "Seriously, what is it with you guys and suggesting there's something between me and Lincoln, huh? First Jen, and now you girls. Seriously, I don't need this."

"Aw, come on, we're just messing around," Mollie insisted. "Besides, you and Lincoln might be good together."

"Yeah, well, neither of us are looking for anything like that."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but I'm pretty certain. We're friends, alright? Nothing more, nothing less, so stop trying to say that I like Lincoln."

"About time you admitted it!" they suddenly heard Joy say, just as she walked in to take her seat behind the scarfed girl. "What, did something happen between you two when you went to visit him?"

"Did you hear any of the conversation we had just now?!" Jordan asked in an exasperated voice.

"Eh, just the last bit." And just like that, Jordan's forehead met her desk, an irritated groan being let out. "What, did I miss something?"

"Pretty much," Kat told her friend. "She's just spent the last two minutes insisting that she and Loud are just friends."

"I really don't need this today."

Fortunately for her, she got a moment of reprieve when Mrs Johnson entered their classroom. "Okay, everyone, settle down!" She declared, silencing all chatter in the room. "We've got a few things to address before the first class begins, so let's get through it quickly. McBride, since Loud is still sick at home, I trust that you can take him is homework again?"

"Uh, y-yes, Mrs Johnson," he replied, not wanting to let her know that he hadn't been the one to take Lincoln his homework. When he looked over at the person who had, she mouthed back "I owe you one", to which he simply nodded.

"Alright, in that case, let's do the register. Andrew?"

* * *

So, after the register and all other morning announcements were handled, the day went on as usual for the fifth grader. The first class was English, and while she was by no means excelling in this class, she thought that the book that they were reading- the story of a young girl who has to emigrate to America from Vietnam and settle in a new country, told through a series of free verse poems- was quite interesting, and she ended up reading a chapter ahead of the others. She didn't mind, though, as it simply meant less homework for her. The next class, however, was science, a subject she wasn't as fond of. She especially didn't do that well at chemistry, and her lab partner was Kat, who had developed a bit of a hatred for the subject after the girl guru incident. Combine that together, and it was no wonder when a puff of smoke came up from their beaker, covering their faces in some kind of dirt.

After getting checked by the nurse to make sure there weren't any adverse effects and cleaning the dirt off their faces, they rejoined their class for recess, and neither were too pleased to find that a photo of their scientific mishap had been taken and published on InstaSnap, but they knew it would blow over eventually. In the meantime, they sat together at a bench in the playground and chatted about other things. Of course, this included a bit more teasing at Jordan for her 'friendship' with Lincoln, irritating her again but she let it slide. They returned to the classroom for library studies after recess, which meant they would work by themselves on an independent project, so Jordan was able to sit down at a computer by herself and focus, calming down after recess.

Eventually, lunchtime came, so the students all eagerly made their way to the lunchroom. Jordan and her friends all queued up, slowly making their way toward the canteen to get their meals.

"I hope they don't have those fish tacos, again," Sadie spoke, giving a slight shudder. "Last time, I almost gagged at the sight of them."

"Yeah, I'm pretty certain people have gotten sick from eating them," Joy recalled. "You'd think they'd be taken off the menu the first time that happened."

"From what I heard, when Principal Huggins tried to speak to the cooks about it, they threatened to use his skin to make pastry," Kat told her friends with a wince, one they all shared at the idea.

"Still, can't be worse than the fish tacos," Mollie argued, to which they shared a bit of a chuckle.

Fortunately for the girls, when they reached the canteen, they saw that there were still some burgers up for grab- smaller and not as greasy as the kind you'd find at a Burpin' Burger, but definitely the best option in their minds. Jordan was at the front, so she grabbed one of the burgers and put it on her tray, grabbing some veg to go on the side and a sauce packet to go with her burger, as well as a bottle of water and a knife and fork. Once she had paid for it, she waited for her friends to grab theirs, before they found their usual table.

"I kind of wish they'd let us eat outside," Jordan mused as she picked up her knife and fork. "It's pretty nice out today."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Joy said in agreement. "It's gonna get hotter, but for today, it would've been nice for a barbecue or something."

"Just imagine, once it starts getting hotter, Jordan might have to leave her scarf at home," Kat joked, to which the girls other than the one in question all tittered.

"And why's that so funny?" Jordan asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know why."

And yes, she did know why, but hearing them say it still made her growl. "Seriously? This again? You've been doing this all day, and I keep telling you, we're just friends! I had enough of it from my sister this morning, I don't need it from you guys too!"

"Woah, Jordan, calm down!" Mollie insisted, eyes slightly widened by the outburst. "We're just joking!"

"Yeah, well, I asked you to stop, because it's not funny! You're just being annoying now."

"I mean… don't you think that's a bit much?" Jordan looked at her best friend in slight disbelief, before scoffing and standing from her seat, picking up her tray. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you guys," was all she said as she walked away, leaving them all a bit stunned.

"Did we… go too far?" Sadie asked the others, a frown forming on her face.

"Just… let her cool off," Mollie replied, though she didn't sound completely confident. "She'll come round, things will blow over before practice later."

Not hearing any of this, Jordan made her away through the dining hall, approaching the table where Lincoln's friends were sat, unpacking their packed lunches. "Hey, guys," she greeted, getting their attention. "Would it be okay if I sat here?"

"Sure thing, Jordan," Liam responded, the others all nodding.

"Thanks."

She sat down opposite Stella, who noticed the somewhat somber look on the girl's face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just… my friends are kinda being jerks today."

"Really? How come?" Clyde asked, before getting an elbow to the ribs from Stella.

"Clyde!" His face fell when he realised what she was trying to say, before she gave Jordan a small smile. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want."

Jordan returned the smile in kind, telling the Filipino girl, "thanks."

"Aww, man!" They heard Rusty complain, pulling out a purple juice box. "I thought I told my dad, I hate grape juice!"

"Really? I love it! You wanna trade?"

"Sure!" He handed the juice box to Jordan, who swapped it with her bottle of water. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Anyone wanna trade for my tuna sandwich?"

"Zach, no one's ever gonna trade for that," Clyde told the boy, which had the rest of the table chuckling, including Jordan.


	49. Ch 49- Sick Of It

Back at the Loud House, Lynn Sr was currently in the kitchen, singing away while he prepared some lunch, both for him and his son. When he had found out that Lincoln was still sick after his food poisoning, he called his friend Kotaro and asked him to manage the restaurant for the day. He let Grant have access to his cookbook, since he had been teaching him how to cook for such an occasion, and he had full confidence that Kotaro and him could manage the establishment in his absence. In the meantime, Lynn continued to prepare lunch, making some simple peanut butter sandwiches.

"_Spread, spread, spread! Spread the peanut butter!_

_Spread, spread, spread! All over the bread!_

_Spread, spread, spread! Spread the peanut butter!_

_To help my son while he's sick in bed!"_

Lynn stopped singing after the last line. "Hmm… probably not the best thing to think about while making food." He thought about it for a second, before smiling and shrugging. "Oh, well!" He continued humming as he sliced the sandwiches into triangles, placing them on a plate that he then put on a tray which already had a banana, a glass of water and a diet soda on it. Lifting the tray, he walked leisurely to avoid dropping it, but when he turned out of the dining room to head upstairs, he saw the snow capped child on the stairs, giving a sheepish smile, now that he had been rumbled. He was still green in the gills and looked tired, but he seemed better than yesterday.

"Hey, dad," he said, the man giving him an unamused look.

"Lincoln, what are you doing out of bed?" He asked. "I thought your mom asked you to stay there."

Lincoln frowned, somewhat guiltily. "Sorry, dad, but I just felt too warm up there."

This got his dad's expression. "Oh, well, why didn't you shout? I could have come and opened a window for you."

"Actually, I already did. I still felt too warm. Could I… sit down here for a bit?"

Hearing his son's request, Lynn couldn't help but smile. "I think that would be alright. Come on." Giving a small smile, Lincoln followed him to the couch, sitting down while his dad placed the tray on the coffee table. "I'll go grab mine and I'll come join you. You okay to eat right now?" The boy nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a second." As he headed back to the kitchen, Lincoln decided to try one of the sandwiches- while he normally had his with jelly and sauerkraut, he did like peanut butter by itself, and he was thankful that he felt able to keep it down. As he chewed on the sandwich, Lynn returned with his own egg and bacon sandwich and cup of coffee. "Glad to see you're eating," he told the boy. "I know you normally like putting other things in your sandwich, but-"

"I know, dad," he interrupted. "I don't want it messing with my stomach either." This brought a smile to the man's face as he sat down next to him. "So, is Kotaro handling the restaurant today?"

"Yeah, he's managing everything while Grant handles the cooking. He's still learning, but Tuesday's are generally lighter at lunch, so he can handle that and I promised I would head back once the girls got back from school."

"Oh… well, sorry you have to stay home to take care of me."

Not liking hearing that, Lynn placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Hey, don't say that, champ! It's not your fault you got sick, so don't worry about it. Besides, I've been training Grant in case something like this happened, so this is like his first test to see how he does."

"I guess. Still, it sucks that I got sick like this."

A chuckle came from the chef as he finished his first bite of his sandwich. "Yeah, it's never fun getting sick. Sure, the idea of staying home from school, not having to do work and all of that sounds great, but when it actually happens, you just want it to be over. It almost makes going to class seem better." This time, the son laughed first, his father laughing along with him. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess. Still, it kind of sucks that I have to miss out on practice later."

"Yeah, I know, kiddo, but it's for the best. You don't want to go when you're sick, do you?"

"No, not really."

The brown haired man noticed the slight melancholy tone in his son's voice, and upon looking, he saw him frowning as he ate his sandwich. "You've really taken to doing gymnastics, haven't you?"

Turning to his father, he gave a nod. "I mean, I'm not a natural at it, and I don't really expect to be at this point. I've only been doing it for… five weeks, now."

"Well, that's how you get better at stuff like that, kiddo. That's why they say 'practice makes perfect'."

"I know… and that's part of what I like about it. I do feel like I'm learning, and even though I do mess up sometimes, most of it, I can just brush it off and try again. I don't feel like I'm screwing up when I don't get it quite right, and honestly… I feel like I'm just having fun."

He stopped speaking and grabbed a bite from another sandwich, but when he didn't hear his dad didn't initially respond, he looked at him and saw that he had a smile on his face, his eyes seemingly looking towards the off tv. "… you know, I just realised. I don't think I actually told you how proud I am of you." Though Lincoln was curious about what he meant, he didn't interrupt as his father turned to face him. "Your mother and I realise that… we'll, trying to get you to do a sport you didn't like was the wrong thing to do. We never really talked to you about football practice, and we should have realised that it wasn't right for you."

Lincoln softly shook his head. "It's fine, dad. You already apologised after…" A shudder came as he tried to suppress the memory emerging in his mind. "Well, after what happened. You were just trying to get me to be more active."

"Well, yeah, we were, but we thought at first that it would be something you enjoyed. That's why, when you told me you didn't enjoy track, we talked and decided that you needed to find something for yourself rather than us try and sign you up for something, and you did. You went out, you tried different things, and you've found something that you really enjoy. It doesn't always go right, but you stuck at it. You've done more than what we were actually hoping you would and… well, I'm really proud of you for it."

Lincoln practically beamed after hearing the praise from his father. "Woah… thanks, dad."

"Ah, come here, champ." He pulled the boy into a hug that Lincoln happily returned, the two males of the family sharing the embrace for a few seconds before returning to their lunches. "Now, what do you say we have a bit of tv while we eat? I won't tell your mother if you don't."

Lincoln gave a small laugh before replying, "sure thing, dad." He picked up the remote and turned on the tv, and as the two of them sat there and watched a sci-fi show while eating, Lincoln couldn't help but think that, though the situation wasn't ideal, he could at least enjoy what he could of the day.

* * *

After finishing lunch and watching tv for an hour or so, Lincoln felt tired again, so he decided to head upstairs and nap for a while. As he laid in bed, sound asleep and snug under the covers, he was eventually brought out of his slumber when he heard the front door opening, the sounds of his family's brand of chaos filling the house once more. "Guess the girls are back," he said as he yawned, his eyes blinking open once more. He pushed himself up into a seated position with his hands, shuffling his back against the wall. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps approaching his room, shortly followed by a knock on his door. "Come in."

The door opened, bringing light into the room as his oldest sister entered, turning on a light switch. "Hey, Lincoln," Lori greeted with a smile. "Were you asleep?"

"Just taking a nap," he told her. "I was probably gonna wake up soon, anyway. So, what's up?"

"Just wanted to come and check on you." She walked over to the desk chair and pulled it out, sitting so she could face her brother. "So, how are you holding up?"

"Not great. I've been able to eat, at least, but I've still felt a bit nauseous."

She frowned, feeling pity for her brother. "Well, that sucks. As much fun as a day off school sounds, that can't be fun."

"It's not. Still, it hasn't been as bad as it was yesterday, and I was able to watch TV with dad for a bit."

"Well, you got lucky. If it were mom, she wouldn't have even let you leave here."

Lincoln chuckled, knowing that this was true. "Yeah. So, what about you? How was your day?"

"Oh, just typical high school stuff. Some days it's cool, some days it sucks. Today was kind of in the middle." She then smirked as she remembered something. "Although, some of my friends were asking about how you were."

"They were?"

"Uh Huh. In fact, they were asking if they could visit the 'cute little patient'. Their words, not mine." She had to resist giggling as she saw his face turn pink, a somewhat nervous smile on his face. "Don't worry, I told them that you needed to rest, but they wanted me to tell you that they hope you get better soon, and that Becky's looking forward to seeing you at the next Ace Savvy convention."

"W-well, be sure to… to thank them for that." Lori could no longer holding back the giggles at seeing how flustered her brother was, making him pout a little as his blush grew. "O-or, whatever."

"Oh, don't be like that, Lincoln. It's not their fault that you're so cute."

"Well… I guess."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on it when she saw him smile. "So, you bummed about missing out on dodgeball practice?"

"Y-yeah, I am, but I think I'll be okay by Thursday, so I shouldn't miss out on practice then, which means I should be okay for our visit this weekend."

"Our visit? Oh, I forgot! At lunch, Bobby called me. He said that his and Ronnie Anne's dad is visiting them in the city for the weekend, so we've had to cancel our visit. I think Ronnie Anne was planning on calling you later to let you know."

"Oh… well, that's okay. They're both probably really excited about that, so I wouldn't want to get in the way of that."

"Yeah, I know. Still, we can always rearrange for another time." He nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "Still, you might be able to do something with your friends this weekend instead." As she said that, she saw something in her peripheral vision that made her smile. "Speaking of…"

Lincoln watched curiously as she motioned for someone else to enter, seeing a moment later that it was Clyde and Stella. "Oh! Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Lincoln," Clyde greeted first, while Stella gave him a wave.

"I'll give you guys some space to talk," Lori said as she stood up and left, shitting the door behind.

"So, what brings you guys here?" Lincoln asked.

"Well, Mrs Johnson asked me to bring your homework," Clyde told his friend, pulling said homework out of his bag.

"And we figured we'd come and see how you were doing," Stella added.

"Oh, well, thanks, guys!"

"No problem! So, how are you feeling?"

"Well, not great, to be honest. Still feeling a bit nauseous, but I'm doing better today than yesterday."

"Doesn't sound fun."

Lincoln shook his head. "It isn't."

"My dads know some great recipes for home remedies," Clyde offered. "Could help you to get better quicker."

"Thanks, but my dad has some of his own, and they've been working alright for me so far." Clyde nodded, before moving to put the homework on the desk. "So, did anything happen today?"

"Not especially," Stella explained. "Lessons were boring as usual, nothing really happened."

"Well, other than Jordan joining us at lunch."

"Clyde!"

Lincoln saw the look of realisation on Clyde's face, and looking back and forth between his two friends, he figured that Stella didn't want Clyde to tell him that. "Wait… what's going on?"

"It's nothing, Lincoln," Stella insisted, though the nervous look on Clyde's face told him that this wasn't really true. Stella could see that he didn't believe her, so she sighed. "Well, Jordan sat down with us at lunch. We don't really know why, but it's not really our place to say anyway."

"Oh… that's fair. You don't have to tell me." Stella smiled, feeling glad that they didn't have to delve on that subject. "So, did anything happen at all?"

"Well, not other than Rusty striking out again, but that happens everyday."

Lincoln gave a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah, it does."

* * *

Later that evening in the Rosato household, Girl Jordan was currently relaxing after a long day at school and gymnastics practice, now dressed in her light blue PJ top, yellow PJ bottoms with white spots and white fluffy slippers. She was sat at her desk watching an animated series online, having already completed her homework after dinner, when she heard her phone vibrate. She paused the video and got up, walking over to her bedside table where her phone lay, and saw that Lincoln was trying to call her. She smiled at this, not hesitating to pick up the phone and answer the call. "Hey, Lincoln!"

"**Hey, Jordan,"** he said on the other end.

"What's up?"

"**Oh, I just… kind of wanted to call you, to be honest."**

"Aww, that's sweet of you, but honestly, I feel like I should be the one calling you. How are you feeling?"

"**Okay at the moment. Hopefully in the morning, I'll be alright to go back to school. Being sick at home kind of sucks."**

She gave a giggle, finding his answer amusing. "I can bet. It'd be better if you could stay at home without being sick."

"**Exactly! Still, I guess not having to go to class today wasn't so bad."**

"Yeah, it was pretty dull today, in all honesty. No projects or anything, all study classes. Kind of a slow day."

"**I can imagine. So, how was practice? I missed not going."**

"Yeah, it kind of sucked not having you there, to be honest. But, yeah, practice was… it was good." She waited for a response, but for about five seconds, he didn't say anything. "Lincoln? Are you still there?"

"… **was everything okay at practice?"**

She blinked, having not expected that question. "Huh? Well, yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"**I was just wondering. You didn't sound so sure when you said that."**

"Oh… well, that was just… um…"

"**It didn't have anything to do with what happened at lunch, did it?"**

Again, she blinked. "What do you mean?"

"**Well, when Clyde and Stella visited me after school, they kind of told me that you sat with them at lunch, so I was just wondering if it had anything to do with that."** She bit her lip, both surprised that Lincoln had figured it out so easily and uncertain about what she should say, but Lincoln decided to speak first before the silence became too awkward. **"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. You don't have to, I was just being nosey, I guess. Sorry about that."**

"Don't be silly, Lincoln, you're not. It's just…" She bit her lip again, contemplating about if she should tell him, taking a moment to think before she eventually spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"**Sure, go ahead. What is it?"**

"Well… your sisters. Do they tend to… tease you?"

"**I mean, kind of. What about?"**

She felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she continued to ask, "about… you and me?"

"… **oh… so, you mean like… if we were… more than friends?"** She gave an affirmative "Mmhmm" as her answer. **"Oh. Well, they don't do it as much now, because I've asked them to back off, but yeah. They used to do it more when we started hanging out more, after I started going to practice."**

"Oh… I see…"

"… **were the others teasing you about it?"**

She gave a small laugh. "You're a pretty good detective, Ace." Any smile on her face fell immediately after that. "Yeah, I got a little bit of it from Jen before school, and when I got to school, Mollie and the others were going on about it a lot, and it was just starting to annoy me too much." When she paused to speak again, she realised how that might have sounded. "N-not because of you! I didn't mean it in that way." The chuckle she heard on the other end of the call told her that he got what she meant, and more importantly, that he didn't mind it. "It's just that they wouldn't stop, and eventually…"

"**You'd just had enough of it,"** he finished for her, to which she nodded.

"Yeah. After lunch, I didn't really speak to them for the rest of the day. I kept to myself at practice, because I just didn't want to talk to them, really." She felt a bit of guilt welling up inside her, making her frown. "Was that… was that wrong of me?"

"**Not at all," **he assured her. **"You told them to stop and they didn't. You had every right to walk away after that."**

"You think so? I mean, guess you're right. Still, I feel kind of bad about it. They're my friends, and I know they probably didn't mean any harm by it."

"**Yeah, I know what you mean. I know it's not my place to say anything, but… would you like some advice?"**

"Uh… yes, please."

"**Don't lose them over this. If you give them a chance to speak to you, things will work out."**

She took a second to take that in, thinking it over in her mind, before she smiled again. "I think that's a good idea, Lincoln. Thanks."

"**Glad I could help."**

"Well, you've been a big help." She was going to say something else, but a sudden yawn escaped her lips, and when she saw the time displayed on her phone, she understand why. "I didn't realise it was so late."

"**Hmm? Oh, wow! I didn't realise either. Well, I guess I better go so you can get some rest."**

She smirked as she told him, "I think it's you who could use the rest more than me, Lincoln." They both laughed a bit at this, before Jordan decided to start to end the call. "Well, I'll talk to you later."

"**Yeah, hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."**

"Goodnight." With that, she hung up the call. She put the phone back on the bedside table and started to head towards the hall so she could go brush her teeth, but she thought of something else, so she walked back over to her phone, found Mollie's number on it and sent her a text:

_Jordan: Can we meet tomorrow at the start of school?_

Once it was sent, she put the phone back down, before heading off to prepare for bed.


	50. Ch 50- A Loud's Eye For Trouble

**(A/N: hey, guys! First of all, we did it: we freaking did it! We got to fifty chapters, and I can't believe it! I never thought I would end up creating something his long, and even less that you guys would stick around for something this long! The support you give is awesome, so thank you all so much!**

**Now, just so you know, the next chapter for this will probably be slightly late- maybe a few days, not much longer. The reason for this is I'm gonna do a one-shot for Valentine's Day, which will be… actually, I'll keep it a secret for now. Just know that, I think you'll enjoy it.**

**So, other than that, all that's left to say is, thank you for reading and enjoy!)**

When Lincoln woke up on Wednesday morning, he started to think that he was okay. He didn't feel immediately nauseous and he didn't feel like he had a temper, so he tried to get up and get ready for school. However, things didn't turn out the way he wanted, and when his parents came to check up on him, he admitted that he still felt weird in his stomach, so his mother advised him to take another day off from school. He didn't feel too happy about it at first, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do well in class if he wasn't well yet, so he resigned and went back to bed, waking up later once again. His mother watched over him again, and made sure that he was eating right to combat his illness, while also checking on his condition regularly. Thankfully, he felt almost as good as new later in the day, using his time by himself to catch up on the homework he had been given by Jordan on Monday and by Clyde the day before. The girls all checked on him again when they got back from school, with Lori showing Lincoln a video she had recorded of her friends Becky and Dana pretending to be nurses and promising to give Lincoln a 'checkup', resulting in his cheeks turning bright red and his nose bleeding slightly, albeit with a bit of a goofy smile.

Still, he managed to get through the day okay, and when he woke up on Thursday, he felt like the rest of his illness had disappeared- his nausea was gone, his fever had settled, his stomach felt fine, and he didn't look green in the gills anymore. After a quick examination from an insistent Lisa, she deemed that he was well enough to go back to school, and Lincoln even managed to beg his mother into letting him go to gymnastics later as well, which had him grinning from ear to ear. So, once he had brushed his teeth, showered, dressed and eaten, he gathered his completed homework and put it in his book bag, then grabbed his gymnastics bag and joined the girls in Vanzilla, with Lori eventually pulling up in front of the elementary school.

"Alright, twerps, we're here," she told the youngest kids in the van. "Have a good day, and I'll pick you up after school." As everyone from Lincoln to Lisa started to exit, she put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Lincoln, if you're feeling like you need to go home at all, ring me. Mom and dad will be busy, so they gave me a note explaining it to my teachers, so I can drop you off at home while they're at work."

"I'll be fine, Lori," he assured her, flashing her a confident smile. "I'm feeling much better."

"Alright. Have a good day, then."

"You too." With that, he got out of the van and shut the door, waving off his older sisters as they drove off. Once they were gone, he turned to the entrance, and after seeing that his younger sisters were already making their way inside, he followed their lead. The AC hit him like a breath of fresh air as he went inside, passing by the crowd of students heading to and from their lockers and classrooms. As he did the same, walking over to his locker to deposit his gymnastics stuff and some of his books, he saw some of his friends heading his way, so he smiled. "Hey, guys!"

"Howdy, Loudy!" Liam greeted first, with Zach and Rusty giving a similar greeting. "Nice to see you're back on your feet!"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now. Feels weird to say, but I'm actually glad to be back here now."

"Really? It sucked that much?" Rusty asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, you'd think being at home all day would be great, but the other stuff kind of takes away from that."

"Well, we're glad that you're back, Lincoln," Clyde told his best friend.

"Me too, buddy." He then realised that their group was one short. "Hey, where's Stella?"

"She might be talking with Girl Jordan," Zach answered.

"Yeah, they've been getting on pretty well since Tuesday," Clyde recalled. "Stella still sits with us at lunch and Girl Jordan has gone back to sitting with her friends, but they tend to talk on the bus or after school."

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna go say hi to them before class starts, so I guess I'll catch up with you in there."

"Okay." So, while his friends made their way towards the classroom, Lincoln closed his locker and looked around, his eyes eventually seeing the two girls chatting by another set of lockers. He made his way over, and when the brown haired girl saw him out of the corner of her eye, she turned and smiled widely. "Hey, girls."

"Hey! You're back!" Jordan replied, somewhat excitedly, moving forward and hugging him. Though he was surprised, he returned the gesture for all three seconds before she realised what she was doing and backed away. "S-Sorry."

Though his cheeks weren't as red as hers had become, he did give a nervous blush as well. "It's fine… it's good to see you."

Stella noticed the slight awkwardness between the two, and decided to break the tension. "You're looking better, Lincoln," she told him with a smile of her own. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, thanks. Thankfully, I think I'm all better now."

"So, will you be coming to practice after school?" Lincoln nodded, and Jordan's smile lit up a little bit again. "Awesome!"

"Yeah, it really sucked not being able to practice on Tuesday, but hopefully I can make up for it later."

"You'll be fine, don't worry,"

"Hey, I'm gonna head to class, so I'll catch you both later," Stella told them.

"Okay," they both replied, before Stella left the two to themselves. "So," Lincoln decided to say, "is everything okay now? You know, between you and your friends?"

Her smile dropped a little when he asked this, but it still stayed on her face. "Yeah, we managed to patch things up. I'll be honest, it was a little awkward when I spoke with Mollie yesterday, but-"

"But, thankfully, we talked about it rationally, and saw that it wasn't losing our friendship over," Mollie told them, as she, Joy, Sadie and Kat approached the two. "After that, the rest of us spoke with her, and we agreed not to tease her as much."

"Were you listening in on our conversation?" Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, we only heard the last bit of it," Kat told her friend. "Pure luck."

"Right…"

"Anyway," Joy spoke up, turning to the white haired boy, "guess we owe you one, Lincoln."

"Yeah, things might have gotten worse if we hadn't talked things out," Sadie added. "I don't want to think about what would've happened then."

"I appreciate the thought, but I didn't do anything," Lincoln insisted. "You would have patched things up without me."

"Don't be so modest, Loud," Mollie told him with a slap to his back. "Seems the Girl Guru got one right for once."

"You know, one of these days, you're gonna get over reminding me of that."

"Yeah, but not today." This brought the other girls to start laughing, and though he rolled his eyes at them, he gave a couple of chuckles himself. "Anyway, good to see you're back on your feet. We'll catch up better at practice, but right now, we need to borrow Jordan for a little bit."

"No worries, I need to head to class anyway, so guess I'll see you later."

"Sure thing."

He gave a small wave as he walked away, heading through the crowd of students before reaching the elementary school class. As he entered, seeing his friends and other students chatting with themselves, his teacher looked up from her desk and caught sight of him.

"Ah, Lincoln!" She greeted, making him come over. "I see that you're feeling better."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Well, that's good to see. I take it that you were able to do the homework I had Clyde bring you?"

"Uh… yeah, I did."

"Alright. Well, hold on to your math homework for now, I'll collect that later. The rest of it, just place it here." He didn't argue, pulling the completed sheets out of his backpack and placing it on her desk. After taking a look through the work, she nodded to the boy. "That seems to be all of it. Alright, you can sit down now." He nodded back, then sat down with his friends, chatting until class started.

* * *

Once everyone had gathered in the classroom, Mrs Johnson went through the register and they heard the morning announcements, before getting in with the first class of the day. Fortunately for Lincoln, the first class was art, a subject that he had something of an affinity for. He was able to focus on his sketch work without disturbance and produced a pretty decent piece within the available time, and while he was sure that he could do a better job at it, his friends assuring him else-wise made him content with his result. After that, the rest of the day was something of a blur- science before recess, and general studies before lunch, which once again saw him trading parts of his lunch with the others for part of theirs.

After a couple of afternoon classes of maths and English, the school bell rang, meaning that school was over, and he could go to gymnastics.

"Alright, class," Mrs Johnson somewhat tiredly announced. "Make sure you have your… homework complete for tomorrow, and… I'll see you in the morning." She fanned her face with her hand, muttering "I hope this heatwave ends soon."

The students paid no heed to her qualms, as many of them were also feeling the effects of the increased heat- some were less affected than others, while some were sweating like mad. Lincoln fell somewhere in the middle of the two, his forehead beaded with sweat, his white hair slightly wet from sweat as well.

"Why are we having a heatwave in November?" Rusty complained, the taller boy faring somewhat worse from the heat, the sweat patches somewhat noticeable in his shirt. "I can't win over the girls if I'm sweating!"

"You couldn't do it if you weren't, either," Zach reminded him, to which Rusty just grumbled. "But, yeah, this is way too hot!"

"I think you're all fussing over nothing!" Liam boasted. "It ain't no worse than workin' on the farm!"

"With all fairness, you do that quite regularly," Clyde told him, wiping away the sweat from his glasses. "We don't, so we aren't as used to it."

"You'll be fine, guys," they heard Jordan say as she approached. "You guys get to go home and relax, while me and Lincoln are gonna be working out for a couple of hours at practice."

"Yeah, hopefully Chris will make sure the air conditioning is on," the Loud boy agreed as he pulled his gymnastics bag out of his locker. "Still, gonna build a sweat exercising anyway, so the heat won't make much of a difference there."

She gave an amused chuckle, putting a hand on her hip. "That's one way to look at it, I guess."

"Well, I need to get going before my dads wonder where I am," Clyde told his bestie.

"No problem, Clyde. I'll see you guys tomorrow." They all waved as they walked away, before Lincoln turned to Jordan. "So, are we just waiting for the others?"

"Yeah, apparently Principal Huggins needed to speak with some of them about something."

"Alright, there's no rush."

"There you are, Loud!" They heard a familiar voice call, turning to see Markus and his friends approaching. Lincoln's face instantly formed a scowl. "We've been wondering where you were."

"What do you want, Markus," he spat, resisting the urge to growl.

"Woah, easy, easy! We just wanted to ask how your week was! We haven't seen you at all, though we can't really blame you. If I had to take part in some girly fashion show, I wouldn't want to be seen at school either!"

As the three jocks laughed, Lincoln gritted his teeth and clenched his fist slightly. Though he didn't say anything about that, Jordan didn't like what Markus was saying. "What is your problem?" She challenged, taking a step forward.

"Listen, Girl Jordan, this has nothing to do with you, so why don't you just step back and keep quiet."

She gave him an appalled look, but before she could lash out at him, Lincoln had stepped forward, his face showing even more anger. "First of all, you don't talk to her like that!" He yelled, attracting someone attention from nearby students. "I don't care what problem you have with me, you have no right to treat her that way! And you know what? So what if I did some fashion show! Just because I have family I actually care about, and am willing to do stuff like that for, doesn't mean I'm a girl! It just means I have the guts to do something like that! Something I don't think you have."

A bit of an "Ooh" was heard by some of the students that had started to crowd around them, but Markus still smirked. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Neither do you. I didn't choose to be off school, I was sick, and I wouldn't try and skip school for something stupid like that."

"Aww, is the girly getting upset? Are we hurting his feelings?"

This led to his friends starting to chant "LINCOLN'S A GIRL" at him, which began to irritate him, so Jordan put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's just find the others and leave."

"Yeah… you're right. Let's go."

He turned around and tried to leave, but Markus reached out and pulled him back by his shoulder. "Where you going, Loud? We aren't done talking!"

"Knock it off, Markus." He swiped the hand away and tried to leave, but Markus pulled him back again. "I said, knock it off." He swiped the hand once again, but Markus pulled him back a third time. "I said, knock it-"

This time, Lincoln didn't get to swipe the hand away, feeling a fist collide with his face and knock him to the ground. While Jordan gasped at this, some of the others winced a little from the impact. "Lincoln!" She exclaimed, kneeling down to help him up into a seated position. He was groaning slightly and held a hand over one eye, but didn't seem too hurt. She then turned to the bully with a fierce look in her eyes. "What the heck is wrong with you?!"

"What? Oh, I get it! You want to see it again! Well, step aside and I can show you."

"Get away from us, you jerk!"

He scoffed. "You can't tell me what to do! In fact, if you don't move, I'll do the same to you."

"I think not!" An older voice cut in, getting everyone to look back and see Principal Huggins stood with a stern glare in his eyes. As the other students decided to walk away before they risked getting in trouble, the balding man approached the pee wee footballer. "Markus, my office, now." He then turned to Jordan and Lincoln. "Miss Rosato, would you escort Mr Loud to the nurse's office? I'll come and get your accounts for events once I've gotten Mr Thomas' account."

"Yes, sir," she told him, waiting for the principal to escort Markus away before helping Lincoln to his feet. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

In the school infirmary, Jordan stood next to Lincoln as he sat on he bed, waiting for Nurse Patti to hand him an ice pack. The nurse in green scrubs with almond skin, dark hair and red lipstick eventually pulled an ice tray out of her mini freezer and popped some cubes into a little bag, tying the ends to keep it in, then handed it to the boy. "Here you go," she told her patient. "You don't need to return the bag, just keep it on for about twenty minutes or until it melts- which, in this weather, might be sooner. You might be left with a black eye for a few days, but just think of it as a badge of honour."

He gave a small chuckle at the joke she gave, holding the makeshift icepack against his eye. "Thanks, Nurse Patti."

"No problem." She then saw the principal enter from the hallway. "Principal Huggins."

"Hello, Nurse Patti. Might I speak with these two real quick?"

"Of course. I'll come back in a moment."

"Thank you." He waited for the nurse to leave before turning to the two students. "Now, first and foremost, I already saw enough to have Markus suspended for fighting, and I know that neither of you engaged him physically, so neither of you will be in trouble. I just need to know what happened before the punch was thrown. Lincoln, would you mind answering first?"

"Okay," he replied, before beginning his recollection of events. "Well, me and Jordan were waiting for our friends so we could head off to practice, when Markus and his friends come up to us, teasing me about helping my sister with her fashion show a few days ago, saying I was skipping school to avoid being seen because of it. He then started talking down to Jordan when she stood up for me, so I told him that I wasn't ashamed of what I did. We tried to leave, but he kept pulling me back, and when I tried pushing away his hand, he punched me."

"I see…" He then turned to Jordan and asked her, "is that true?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened," she responded. "Lincoln and I were minding our own business, he came up and started causing trouble, and when we tried to leave, he punched Lincoln and threatened to punch me too."

"Don't worry, I overheard that and am adding that to his punishment. From what I can tell of the situation, he attacked Lincoln unprovoked, so he will get a minimum of three days suspension. You two don't need to stick around any longer, so you can go to your practice now. If I need to, I'll speak with you in the morning. Is that alright?"

"Yes, sir," Lincoln told the man, both him and Jordan nodding. Once the middle aged man left, Jordan turned to her friend. "How you feeling?"

"Well, it stings a bit… and now, it feels a bit cold." She couldn't help but giggle at him attempting to make light of the situation, which made him smile. "But, yeah, not too bad."

"Well, I'm glad. Markus is a jerk, and you don't deserve to get hurt because of him."

"Thanks."

"Hey, guys," they heard a familiar voice say, turning to see Mollie stood in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?"

"I thought you and the others were gonna go on ahead to gymnastics?" Jordan asked.

"They went, I said I'd wait for you. How you holding up, Loud?"

"Alright, though I'm probably gonna look like one of those dogs that have a patch over their eye in the morning."

"Nah, those dogs are cute."

He gave a dry scoff and a "thanks", to which she stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyway, are we gonna go to practice, or stick around here and make jokes about the black eye I'm going to have?"

Mollie gave a fake pout. "Hmm… I really wish we could do both."

Jordan rolled her eye, before finally saying, "shut up, Mollie." She then turned to Lincoln and said, "let's go", before they all started to make their way out of the school.


	51. Ch 51- Back At It Again

**(A/N: hey, everyone! I know I've been doing a lot of these author notes at the start of chapters, so I hope it's not getting annoying, but there are a couple of things I have to say. First of all, I want to give a shout out to RawToonage Press. Not only are they a great writer, but they're also a great artist, and they've been doing some cover art for some of my stories, which I could not be happier about! I love what he has come up with so far, and am honoured that he has done this. If you haven't read my other works, then feel free to check them out, and if you already have, please check it out on his DeviantArt page, RawToonage.**

**Also, and I never thought I'd say this about one of my stories, but… you guys helped it reach an astonishing milestone. In fifty chapters, this story has hit… ONE. HUNDRED. THOUSAND. VIEWS! It doesn't feel like that long ago, I was celebrating 50K, but this is a whole new level! I am absolutely ecstatic with this, and cannot thank you enough for this. It's your response that keeps me going as a writer, so I hope I can continue to match up to that support.**

**Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, and enjoy!)**

At the sports centre, all the kids that were waiting for gymnastics practice to begin were either sat or stood around the practice area, talking to each other or- in the case of some of the younger gymnasts- playing around, doing handstands and cartwheels and similar things. As Joy, Sadie, Kat and Artie talked with each other, they saw Chris coming over to them.

"Hey, you guys," he greeted.

"Hey, Chris," they all responded.

"Where are Mollie and Jordan at today? Or do they have other commitments?"

"Mollie told us she was going to wait for Jordan and Lincoln," Kat explained to the coach. "She got a text from Jordan saying they had to stay behind for a bit."

"Do any of you know what for?" They all either shook their heads or gave him a shrug. "I see. Well, we need to get started, so once they get here, they can just catch up." The kids nodded and made their way towards the floor, while Chris turned towards it and clapped his hands together. "Okay, kids. I know it's pretty hot outside, but the AC means it's nice and cool in here, so let's get started. We're going to be doing more work on vaulting and the bars, this week looking at the parallel bars. We'll start with the vault, but first we need to warm up. Make sure you have space between yourself and everyone else." The kids all gathered on the floor, standing dispersed around it. "Okay. Same as always, we start at the feet. They take the brunt of the impact from any landing, so it's important to make sure that we stretch the muscles there to avoid injury. Let's start by going up into our toes." They followed his instruction, and moved onto their toes. "Now, roll back onto your heels, then roll forward to your toes again."

They repeated this for a good few seconds, before going on to stretch the rest of their bodies too- ankle rolls, calf stretches, lunges, gate stretches, waist twists, toe touches, wrist rolls, lateral reaches, arm circles and neck rolls. No part of the body was left out, to ensure that the risk of injury would be as minimised as possible. After a few minutes of stretches, followed by some warm up exercises like star jumps, squats and running on the spot, Chris saw Lincoln, Jordan and Mollie enter, so he clapped his hands together once again. "Alright, good work, everyone. We're gonna start with the vault, so head on over there, and I'll catch you in a second." As the kids made their way over to the vaulting lane, Chris walked up to the late arrivals, noticing the black eye that had started to form on Lincoln's face. "Finally made it, I see?"

Jordan rolled her eyes at Chris' slightly teasing tone. "Sorry we're late, we had to take care of something at school," she explained.

"I can take a guess why." He turned to the sole boy of the trio. "You girls go and get changed, I'm gonna talk with Lincoln for a second." Both Mollie and Jordan nodded, leaving the boy and the man to themselves as they went to the changing room. "How did you get that shiner?"

"A jerk in my school punched me," Lincoln told him.

"Did you hit him back?" The white-haired boy shook his head. "That's good. Does it hurt?"

"It's not too bad. It hurt at first, but the ice pack I was given helped. Well, before it melted, at least."

A chuckle came from the gymnastics coach. "Yeah, I can't imagine it would have lasted that long in this heat. So, how are you feeling? Your mom called me on Tuesday to say you had food poisoning."

"Yeah, that sucked, but I'm alright now, so I think it's passed."

"Alright, I trust you. If you feel off, either let me know, step to one side or head to the changing room. First time back at practice after illness can be tough, so know your limits, alright?" When the boy nodded, Chris smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, now go get changed."

"Yes, sir."

Once again, Chris gave a chuckle. "What is this, army camp? Just call me Chris, man."

"Oh. Sure thing, Chris."

With that, Lincoln headed into the changing room with his bags and got changed as quickly as he could, rejoining the others by the vaulting track. He had just missed the first demonstration, so Chris gave a run of his own, showing what he wanted them to do- he ran down the track, jumped off the vault, sprang off the table with his hands at a right angle, and landed facing the way he had come from, before jogging back to the kids. "Okay, let's see what you guys can do. Since three of you were late, you guys should stretch a bit before you have your go. Jessica, you want to go first?"

As one of the younger girls nodded and got in position at the start of the track, Lincoln joined Jordan and Mollie in doing some stretches, starting with wrist rolls. "So, is there some kind of trick to this vault?" He asked. "Or is it just a case of turning in the air?"

"Pretty much," Jordan replied, whilst stretching her triceps. "It's kind of like you're cartwheeling off of the table, but you push away."

"Okay. Sounds simple enough, I guess, though it's never exactly simple in gymnastics, I guess."

"Now, you're getting it," Mollie joked whilst rolling her ankle. "Also, don't put one foot further forward than the other on the vault. Just because you're trying to turn sideways doesn't mean you put one foot further forward than the other. I learned that the hard way."

"Yeah, she ended up not getting enough height from it and ultimately just crashed into the table," Jordan added with a smirk at her bestie. "Took the wind right out of her."

"Hey, I still remember you making mistakes when we were first starting. Remember the first time you tried the uneven bars, and your hands were so sweaty that you just went flying off?"

Jordan winced a little at the memory. "Don't remind me. Chris has to catch me, and I felt mortified."

"To be fair," Lincoln spoke, "it doesn't sound as bad as what happened last week, when I was trying the rings and I got caught in a spin."

"Yeah. That was pretty funny." While the two girls shared a laugh at it, Lincoln gave a "har, har" in the way that showed he wasn't annoyed by their response. "Still, that's what happens. You make mistakes and you learn. No biggie."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

After a couple of minutes of stretching, he heard Chris call to them. "You three ready to join us?" They all nodded to him, walking over to the others once again. "Alright, which one of you wants to go first?"

"Sure, I'll do it," Mollie spoke up.

"Alright, then, step forward." As Mollie took her position, he watched as the other kid who had just gone returned to the group. "Go!" Mollie took off down the track, making the trip to the vault in just a few seconds before jumping off of it, hitting the handspring off the table and landing facing everyone. "Nice work, Mollie!" As the brunette cleared the landing mat, Chris turned to Jordan. "Jordan, you're next." The ponytailed girl nodded, and the process repeated itself- once Mollie returned to the group, he signalled for Jordan to go, and she took off down the track, hitting the vault before using her hands to push off of the table and landing cleanly on the mat, facing everyone else. "Very good, Jordan! Come on back." He then turned to Lincoln and told him, "alright, Lincoln, you're up."

The Loud boy stepped up to the start of the track. As Jordan made her way back, she mouthed "you've got this" to the boy, who smiled and nodded. When Chris gave the go, he took a quick, deep breath, before making his way down the track. He kept his speed up all the way to the vault, then jumped off of it, hit the handspring off the table at the right angle, and twisted in midair before landing on his feet. Though he felt a slight wobble in his landing, he held his position, and one look up told him that he was facing the others, some of whom were applauding him.

"Alright, good work, Lincoln!" He heard Chris commend him. "Come on back."

With a smile on his face, Lincoln jogged back over, where Jordan was quick to tell him, "good job."

"Thanks. You too."

* * *

For the remainder of the training session, Lincoln found himself doing surprisingly well, more so than he remembered doing before. For the first half, they continued to work on the vault, with Chris teaching them how to do a variety of different vaults, and each time that Lincoln gave one a go, he felt himself getting that bit more confident. He wasn't yet perfect at it, but he had shown significant improvement. This only continued after this, as once everyone had taken a break, Chris taught them some techniques for parallel bars, such as the back uprise and the forward roll, and though Lincoln wasn't as confident with this apparatus as the vault, he found that he was doing okay, managing to follow Chris' instructions and adapt from any advice he was given, but for the most part he didn't need advice. Eventually, though, it was time once again for the session to end, with everyone stretching once more.

"And, that should do it," Chris spoke up, shaking his arms to keep them loose. "Great work today, everyone! Enjoy the rest of the day, and I'll see you all on Sunday."

As the kids got up and headed to get changed or talk with their parents, Lincoln walked over to Jordan. "So, is it your mom picking us up this time?"

Jordan nodded. "Yeah, and I think your mom is doing it this weekend. My mom has a work thing or something going on."

"Okay. I'll check she knows when I get back. Meet you outside in a few minutes?"

"You sure you wanna stand out there in this heat?"

He blinked for a second, before replying, "okay, yeah, I forgot about that." She gave a giggle at his slip up, to which he rolled his eyes. "So, guess I'll meet you back here then."

She nodded, and they headed to their respective changing rooms. As Lincoln approached his bag and began to put his shoes back on, he saw Artie come in. "How is it so hot, even with the AC on?"

Lincoln gave a chuckle. "Yeah, and they're saying it's going to be worse this weekend," the Loud boy replied.

"How are you not more tired? I mean, when I was at your stage, I was pretty much wiped after practice, and there was never a heatwave like this to deal with."

"Really?" When Artie nodded, Lincoln gave a small shrug. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised I'm not feeling tired myself. Maybe my sister training me is finally paying off."

"Either that, or you'll really feel it in the morning."

The two boys laughed, before a Lincoln finished getting his shoes on. Gathering his bags and saying goodbye to Artie, he left the changing room, and though he didn't see Jordan yet- which he hadn't really expected to straight away- he did see Chris lock eyes with him.

"Hey, Lincoln!" He called to the boy, waving him over. "Can we talk for a second?"

Not wanting to argue, Lincoln approached the coach. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to tell you that, you've done really well today."

Lincoln blinked, surprised to hear this from his coach. "I have?"

"Yeah, you have! Even though you missed the last session because you were sick, and after… well, what that jerk at your school did to you earlier, I was expecting you to need to take your time to get back in the groove of things, but you got straight into it. You impressed me today."

Lincoln could hardly believe he was hearing this, a timid smile appearing on his face while his hand reached to rub the back of his other arm. "Thanks."

"Forget about it. Keep this up next time, okay?"

Lincoln nodded, and Chris nodded back before walking away. Lincoln simply stood there for a few seconds, the smile not leaving his face, before he felt a hand on his shoulder, which a quick turn of his head told him belonged to Jordan. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

The two of them headed out of the sports centre and into the parking lot, where Mrs Rosato was waiting by her car. As she saw the kids approach, she smiled. "There you are," she said with a relieved sigh. "Your principal told me what happened, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mom," Jordan told her, while Lincoln gave a nod, making the adult sigh once again.

"That's good to hear, though that black eye doesn't look too good, Lincoln. Do you want me to pick up an ice pack on the way to your house?"

"That's alright," Lincoln assured her. "It doesn't hurt anymore, and I'm sure we have some ice at home. I can imagine my sisters are already making one big enough to sink the Titanic."

Sarah gave a chuckle at the joke before telling him, "well, if you're sure. Principal Huggins told me you stood up for Jordan. Is that true?" When he nodded, she smiled at him. "Thank you for that, young man. I appreciate you looking out for my little girl."

"Mom!"

She ignored her daughter's blushing and reaction, while Lincoln didn't really notice. "That's okay," he assured the mother of one. "She stood up for me too, probably even more so after Markus punched me." He turned to the girl in question and said, "I owe you one for that."

"Come on, Lincoln, you don't owe me anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You would have done the same for me."

"Well, kids," Sarah spoke up, "we better get going before traffic picks up. Hop in, and let's go."

* * *

So, after a twenty minute or so drive, they reached Franklin Avenue, and as the car pulled up outside the Loud household, Lincoln looked out of the window and saw the front door opening, with Rita and Lynn Jr making their way out. As Mrs Rosato fully parked the car, she saw the Loud matriarch approaching, so she poked her head out of the open window. "Hi there, Rita," she greeted.

"Hi, Sarah," Rita greeted back.

"Sorry if we were late getting back."

"No, not at all, you're right on time." She looked to the two kids in the back of the car. "How was practice, kids?"

"It was good, Mrs Loud," Jordan answered, while Lincoln gave a nod.

"Glad to hear it. Lincoln, you can head on inside, I just need to talk with Mrs Rosato for a second, okay?"

"Okay," he responded, before turning to his friend. "Guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Sure. Besides, I need to get vengeance for you beating me at dodgeball."

He gave a small chuckle. "We'll see about that." She joined him in his chuckle, before they gave each other a small wave as he stepped out of the car, coming face to face with his next oldest sister. "Hey, Lynn."

"Hey, bro," she greeted back. "Nice shiner."

"Thanks. I just wanted to try something different, you know?"

Lynn couldn't resist a laugh at her brother's joke. "Ha, nice one."

"So, I'm guessing the others already heard from mom what happened?"

"Nah, there was a video of what happened that got spread around, Lori found it and showed us before we even got home."

"Oh, boy. Guess I'm dealing with Sisternado again."

"Yeah, you are. Pretty sure I saw Leni chiselling some ice for an ice pack… though, I think she was treating it like an ice sculpture, but I can never tell with her."

"I get what you mean. Let me guess, you're gonna be teaching me some self defence stuff later."

"Hey, it's there if you want it."

He gave a chuckle before assuring her, "thanks, but I'm good. Even if it would probably help me with dealing with the others."

While Lynn laughed once more, Lincoln turned to his friend who was holding back her laughter. "I'll see you later."

"See you, Lincoln," she replied as he walked away, before turning to the other ponytailed girl. "Are the rest of your sisters really like that?"

"What can I say, he's our only bro. We don't want to see him get hurt."

"Yeah, I guess that's fair."

Lynn nodded, before deciding to say something else. "So, anyway, when we saw the video, we heard what you said and everything. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, thanks for sticking up for him."

Jordan waved it off, replying by saying, "he would have done the same for me, and he stuck up for me first."

"Yeah, I know. Still, I can see why he likes hanging out with you. You're pretty cool."

Jordan's smile grew. "You too."

"Well, it was nice seeing you, Rita," they overheard Jordan's mom say, signalling that their conversation was over.

"You too, Sarah," Rita replied, before turning to the two girls. "Let's go, Lynn. I'll see you on Sunday after practice, then, Jordan."

"Okay, Mrs Loud." So, as the Loud mother and daughter began to head back towards their house, Mrs Rosato began to drive away, giving a smirk that Jordan could see in the inside mirror. "What?"

"You know, that boy seems like a keeper. You might want to think about snatching him up before someone else does."

This caused the young girl's cheeks to start heating up. "Mom! He's just a friend, that's all!"

"I know, dear, I'm just joking." This only got the girl to pout, which in turn made her mother chuckle as she continued the drive home,


	52. Ch 52- Too Hot To Handle

**(A/N: hey, everyone! My apologies for the late upload. As I mentioned in my other story, I had a huge presentation yesterday at Uni, so my focus was on that recently.**

**Also, I just wanted to let you all know that there are only another four or five chapters left for Journey For Unity, and once that story is done, I will be returning to only doing one multi-chapter story at any one time, which means that you should hopefully get a new chapter every three days instead of maybe one a week from then on.**

**That's all I have to say about that, so thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

"Okay, guys! Be in Vanzilla in five minutes!" Lori exclaimed, to which feet began to stomp around.

"Why do we have to go to school? It's too hot out!" Lola complained as she put her bag over her shoulders.

"Your sparkly towel is only gonna make it worse," Lana pointed out, to which Lola whipped a scowl in her direction.

"It is _not _a sparkly towel!"

The two began growling at each other, before Lincoln came over and put himself between them. "Girls, that's enough," he firmly told them. "It's too hot out as it is, so let's not make things worse by arguing, okay? Now, since I knew things were gonna be super hot today, I went and put some bottles of water in the freezer. You two head to the car, and I'll go get them, but no fighting, okay?"

This brought a smile to their faces. "Thanks, Lincoln!"

He gave a smile and a chuckle as the twins made their way toward the front door, before heading into the kitchen. As he opened the freezer and began to pull out the bottles of water, Luna peered in and raised an eyebrow upon seeing this. "Whatcha got there, bro?" She asked, walking over with a grin. "You didn't get gum in your hair again, did you?"

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "I suppose you don't want one of these, then."

When he held up one of the frozen bottles of water, her grin dropped as she gave a gasp. "Dude, are you for real right now? That's awesome, bro! The man with the plan comes through again!" She reached to grab the bottle, but he pulled it away, a smirk on his face as she pouted and gave a begging look. "Come on, bro, it's too hot for words out there. You're not gonna make me melt out there, are you?" He gave her a look that told her he was considering it, but when he held the water bottle for her to grab, she smiled and accepted it. "Cheers, bruh. You know I don't mean anything by that, right?"

"Yeah, I know, I was just messing with you. Would you mind helping me with these?"

"Sure thing, bro."

"Thanks."

So, he handed her five of the bottles and grabbed the remaining five before closing the freezer, then followed the rocker out to the van. As they approached the driver side window, Lori leaned out and told them, "any longer, and we would literally be late."

"Will this change your mind?"

He held up one of the bottles for her, and she gave a smile at him as she took it. "Thanks, Linc. Now, get in."

With a roll of his eyes, he obliged, getting in after Luna took the middle seat and sitting next to her. He closed the door, before he and Luna handed out the water bottles to the rest of the sisters, each of them thanking him. Once they all had received a bottle and had done up their seatbelts, Lori backed the van out of the drive, and began the school journey. Along the way, everyone was doing all they could to try and keep cool- they already had the windows down as far as they could (which, given the age of the van, came with varying results), the AC was on full, Lucy and Lola had old fashioned fans that they wafted themselves with, Lana was sticking her head out the window with her tongue out, Leni and Luan had little battery operated fans that they were aiming at themselves. As for Lincoln, he was sat back with his elbow resting on the open window, his bottle of water held against his cheek.

"How much hotter can it get?" Lincoln spoke to no one in particular, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"According to meteorological findings, this spell of excessively increased temperatures and high humidity should reach its peak within twenty-four hours, before returning to the status quo after another twenty-four hours."

"In English, Einstein!"

Lisa gave a small grumble, rolling her eyes at the jock's abrupt comment. "Ignoramus… the heatwave should reach its hottest tomorrow, but things should return to normal the day after."

"Aww, man! I was gonna go mud jumping with Skippy tomorrow!" Lana whined. "Now the mud's gonna be all dry!"

"Well, at least you won't be dragging mud into our room again," Lola pointed out, ignoring the low growl she got from the grease monkey. "Meanwhile, I have to go to a pageant rehearsal, and I'm going to be so sweaty!"

"So, no different than usual."

The pageant princess gave her twin a fiery glare. "What did you say?!"

"That's enough!" Lori yelled, cutting off any potential conflict. "There will literally be no fighting in the van, it's already bad enough we have to deal with this stupid heat wave, so settle down and-" As she said this, she saw steam beginning to rise from the hood of the van. "Uh oh."

"What's wrong, Lori?" Lincoln asked, looking slightly concerned.

"I think he engine's overheating. We need to pull over." The rest of the Loud's all groaned as Lori slowed down the car as she pulled up next to the sidewalk, eventually coming to a stop. "Alright, everyone out."

Grumbling as they did so, the Louds grabbed their things and exited the vehicle and stood on the sidewalk as Lori popped the hood, using a cloth to protect her fingers from being burned and leaning back to avoid the steam blasting in her face. Once it had cleared enough, she looked in. "Ugh… I can't tell what's wrong with it. Lana, do you have any of your tools with you?"

"Sorry, no. Just my wrench," Lana admitted. "There might be something in the trunk, though."

"Alright, let's take a look." They walked around to the back of the van, Lori opening the trunk before helping Lana up to take a look. "Anything?"

"'Fraid not. There's not even any coolant in here, so we can't cool down the engine. Basically, we're stuck here."

The remaining Louds all gave even louder groans, except for Leni. "Can't we use the ice water Linky gave us?"

"It's not even melted yet!" Lola pointed out, holding up her still frozen water.

"Not to mention, water boils faster than coolant," Lana added. "It wouldn't do any good."

"No, sir! And that really boils… erm…" Luan stomped angrily before exclaiming, "it's too hot for me to think of good puns."

"Wish we knew that sooner," Lynn muttered to Lucy, who gave a small chuckle.

Meanwhile, Leni frowned, looking down in disappointment, before feeling Lincoln pat her on the back. "It was still a good thought, Leni."

Thankful for the compliment, she gave her brother a smile. "Thanks, Linky."

The shutting of the hood caught everyone's attention, all turning to see Lori give a huff. "Well, looks like we have no choice- you guys better get walking, I'll call for a tow truck."

"I can give Chunk a ring, see if he'll drop us off, but he won't be able to fit us all," Luna suggested. "Probably four tops."

Lola let out a frustrated growl. "Great! Let me guess, you guys get a ride to high school, while the rest of us have to suffer!"

Lincoln gave a small shake of his head as he walked over to the self-proclaimed princess. "Come here," he told her, and before she could respond, he lifted her up and positioned her on his shoulders. "Is that better?"

Realising what her brother meant, Lola smiled. "Much. Thank you, Linky."

"Aww, man," Lana complained. "Why does she get to be carried?"

"Hey, why would you want him to carry you?" Lynn butted in, jabbing a thumb to her chest. "I can get you there way faster! Hop on!"

Lana's frown turned to a smile as Lynn allowed her to jump on her back for a piggyback, all the while Lisa rolled her eyes. "Thoughtful of them, I suppose."

Hearing the four-year-old's request, Lucy turned to her younger sister and asked, "would you like me to carry you?"

Lisa started at the goth, taking in her request, before looking down at her feet and saying in a low voice, "yes please."

Lucy nodded, giving a rare instance of a smile. "Hop on."

* * *

So, while the older siblings waited by the broken down van for Chunk to help move the van and get them to school, the younger six made their way toward the school, doing their best to keep their minds off of the heat by talking about other things. Lynn didn't seem to mind the heat as much as the others, but Lincoln could tell that it was getting to her- even as she piggybacked the older twin, he could see that the heat was making her feel tired, not that she would ever admit it. He'd have to lie through his back teeth to say he wasn't too. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and he had to slip his bottle of frozen water into his bag so he could carry Lola, but he knew that complaining wouldn't make things better.

It took them a while, but they eventually reached the Elementary School, stopping outside of the front steps so that Lynn, Lincoln and Lucy could put the younger three sisters down. "Alright, I better get moving," Lynn declared. "Catch you at home, guys."

"Thanks for the ride, Lynn!" Lana called, she and the others waving to the athletic Loud as she began to jog away, with the exception of Lisa.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," she spoke up, the others turning to see her looking at her phone, "but we have all missed registration, and our respective first classes will be in session."

"Don't worry about it, Lisa," Lincoln replied. "You girls head to class, I'll go see Cheryl and explain what happened. Just make sure your teachers know too, okay?"

"Okay!" They all replied, before making their way inside. Lincoln shook his head softly, and was about to follow the girls, but a hand placed on his arm stopped him. He turned and saw that it was Lucy, who was looking down at her feet.

"Hey, Lincoln?"

"Yeah, Lucy?"

She opened her mouth to speak, choosing her words carefully, before shaking her head. "Never mind. I'll see you later."

As the goth made his way inside the school, Lincoln couldn't help but feel that there was something odd about that interaction, but he couldn't put his finger on it, so he brushed it off as the heat getting to him. Knowing that the longer he stood there, the later he would be to class, he entered the school building. A smile spread across his face as the AC hit him, making the heat somewhat less unbearable. He made his way towards his locker first, placing his gym bag in the locker and made sure he had the right books for class, before closing the locker.

After half a minute of traversing the school building, he eventually found the reception to Principal Huggins' office and entered, seeing a woman with a brown beehive hairstyle, wearing a yellow button shirt and a dark green skirt. She was leaning back in her chair and fanning her face with her hand while a desk fan blew cool air around the room. As he approached the desk, the receptionist looked at him and gave a small smile as she sat up straight. "Well, hello, Mr Loud."

"Hey, Cheryl," he greeted.

"I take it you're here to report your late arrival?"

He nodded. "I'm also doing the same for my sisters. I told them I'd handle it while they went to class."

"Well, isn't that sweet of you! No problem, just let me find the right books." She opened the drawer under her desk and looked through the books inside before pulling out four and placing them on the desk. It took a moment, but she eventually opened them all to the right pages before she could grab a pen. "So, it's you in the sixth grade class, Lucy in the third grade class, Lana and Lola in the first grade class, and Lisa in the K1 class, right?" He nodded, so she checked the time on her computer and began to write down the necessary information. "And what is the reason for your late arrival?"

"Our van's engine overheated, so we had to walk the rest of the way here."

"Ooh, that can't have been fun in this heat. Is there anyone I can call if Principal Huggins asks me to?"

"My oldest sister Lori was driving, so I'd ring her. I don't know if she's told mom or dad yet."

"Fair enough. Okay, and that… should…" After writing down the last bits of information, she put down her pen. "Do it! Alright, Lincoln, you and your sisters are officially excused."

"Thanks, Cheryl," he told her with a relieved smile. "Guess I better head to class, then."

"Alright, kid. Have a good day."

* * *

So, Lincoln left the receptionist to her work and joined the rest of Mrs Johnson's class, apologising for his late arrival before taking his seat next to Clyde, whom he was quick to explain his tardiness to. The first two classes of the day went by rather easily, in part due to Mrs Johnson also struggling with the heat- for geography, she simply resigned to sticking on a documentary about the founding of the New England states, which no one could really pay attention to, purely because of how tired they felt under the heatwave. English class faired little better, with Mrs Johnson taking ten minutes to try and teach them about certain parts of grammar, before letting the students work by themselves with worksheets, and anyone who finished early was allowed to just sit back and relax.

After a short recess, the fifth grade class headed to gym class, a class that most dreaded, and the heatwave only made it more unbearable, which some of the boys made vocal in the changing room. "Why can't we have a free hour or something?!" Rusty whined. "It's too hot for gym class."

"I know what you mean," Zach replied, wiping the sweat out of his goggles. "I'd take double math over this."

"I don't see what y'all are fretting about," Liam argued, to which his friends gave him blank stares.

"Liam, you help your family on their farm," Clyde pointed out in a dry tone. "You're used to this kind of heat."

"Naw, this is way hotter than that."

"My point still stands." He heard Lincoln chuckle, but when he saw his friend wince a little as he wiped his eye, he asked, "is your eye hurting?"

"No, but the sweat is irritating it a little," Lincoln explained. "I'll be fine."

"You sure? That punch you took was…"

Lincoln sighed, having heard from his friends at recess that a video of the incident with Markus had gone somewhat viral online, and that everyone at school had seen it. While some of the comments he had received were praising him for standing up for himself and Jordan, particularly from friends of his and Jordan's and his sisters, there were also a lot of comments that basically laughed at him for getting punched like that. "Yeah, I know, Clyde, but it was just one punch."

"I'm still surprised your sisters haven't gone on a witch hunt for Markus," Rusty pointed out.

"Oh, believe me, they were planning on it. I even saw Lisa reading a book on medieval torture devices when I got home. However, once mom and dad explained that Markus was getting a few days of suspension, and I insisted that I didn't want them to do that, they agreed to respect my wishes and leave it well enough alone." He gave a smile of pride at this, but when he saw his friends looking at him with their eyebrows raised expectantly, her dropped his smile and huffed. "Fine, they backed off when I promised them I'd make them eggs for breakfast for the next week. Happy?"

His friends all gave a chuckle, which eventually got Lincoln to do the same. After another minute or so of talking, they all went out of the locker room and into the gym hall, joining the rest of their classmates in waiting for the class to start so they could get it over with. It wasn't long before Coach Pacowski emerged from his office, panting and sweating heavily from the heat while using his clipboard to fan himself down.

"Alright," he spoke with little energy. "Apparently, it's… too hot for us to… have gym class outside. So… we're going to… play some dodgeball." He doubled over, muttering "damn, it's hot" to himself before standing back up. "Okay! Line up!"

A sharp blow on his whistle got the tired fifth graders to become alert, lining up in front of the bleachers. Once they had done that, Pacowski split them down the middle into their two teams, which mostly ended up being the same teams as usual. The kids went to their respective sides while the gym teacher laid out five dodgeballs along the middle line, then walked over to the wall. A blow of his whistle got the kids to run towards the middle, those that were quick enough grabbing one of the rubber projectiles before everyone returned to the back lines.

"So, what's the call, Lincoln?" Stella asked. "Scorpion formation, or do we disperse?"

"Spread out, throw and pray," he quickly replied, his eyes meeting with Jordan's as they both smirked. "Seems like Jordan wants a bit of vengeance for last time, so better if you guys don't get caught in the crossfire."

"GOT IT!"

Another whistle blow was heard, and the match was underway. Like Lincoln had predicted, Jordan's sights were set on him, so he did his best to move around and avoid her attacks, while also making sure not to bump into his teammates or get hit by any other dodgeballs being thrown. He quickly saw one coming at him from the side, so he caught it to eliminate them and used the ball to block the attack Jordan used, before sending his ball her way. She ducked her head to the side to dodge it, the smirk still on her face.

'Gonna take more than that, Lincoln,' she confidently thought, dodging out of the way of another ball from the opposing team. She quickly picked up another ball and tried to eliminate the white-haired child, only for him to duck and it to hit Rusty in the face instead. 'Show me what you've got.' The game continued over the next several minutes, with Lincoln and Jordan seeming to keep their focus entirely on each other. While Lincoln's friends had fallen early on, Lincoln persisted, getting another elimination after missing Jordan, but Jordan was just as persistent. She only ever threw to try and get rid of the Loud boy, but she couldn't land the hit, only getting more collateral eliminations. Eventually, after Stella tried to get rid of the Rosato girl, Jordan caught it and eliminated her, leaving just Jordan and Lincoln one on one. "You want to give up now?!" she challenged.

"Nope! You?!" he fired back, to which she shook her head. "Then give it all you've got!"

"Gladly."

She threw the ball in her hands at the boy, only for him to roll to one side. He then picked up a ball and threw it at her, but she simply stepped to one side. All anyone else could do was watch on as the two of them went at it, throwing balls back and forth and dodging as best they could, sometimes with ease and sometimes by the skin of their teeth, for well over a minute. After deciding that she had had enough, Jordan grabbed a pair of balls, throwing the one in her right hand first, and once Lincoln had dodged it, she threw the other ball, not knowing that at the same time, Lincoln had thrown one of his own, and by some matter of miracle, the two balls collided in midair with a resounding **THWACK** sound. As the two balls bounced on the ground, the two kids panted as Lincoln dropped to one knee and Jordan rested her hands on her knees, having put all their energy into the match.

Before anyone could do or say anything, the sound of a whistle being blown was heard. "Alright! That's time!" Coach Pacowski declared. "I, uh… I can't really think of any way to settle this, so let's call it a draw, and you all can do whatever you want until lunch. Class is over."

As the coach walked away, the rest of the kids shrugged at the sudden announcement before beginning to talk to each other. As Lincoln got to his feet, he saw Jordan walk over to him and extend a hand. "Good match, Lincoln," she told him, the boy smiling as he shook her hand.

"You too, Jordan."

"Guess your last win wasn't a fluke after all."

He chuckled as he told her, "guess not."

"That was intense, guys!" They heard Stella say as she and the others approached them. "I'm surprised it went on that long!"

"Yeah, I thought Lincoln would've gotten smoked!" Rusty blurted out, before Liam elbowed him in the stomach.

"Well, I wasn't gonna let him beat me after last time," Jordan reminded them, before smirking at Lincoln. "Should've known he wouldn't let me beat him either."

He smirked back and responded by saying, "well, we know now that you can be beaten, so I guess that adds a confidence boost."

She gave a small giggle. "I guess. So, what are you guys doing this weekend?"

"Probably trying not to melt from this stupid heatwave," Zach bluntly answered, though Jordan only smirked more.

"Well, maybe you don't have to. Anyone up for a pool party?"


	53. Ch 53- Operation: Cool By The Pool

"_**Lincoln, are you sure this won't go like last time?"**_

"Clyde, I'm certain," Lincoln replied through the walkie talkie, dressed in a white t-shirt with the Ace Savvy logo, and orange swim shorts with a white stripe down either side. "Last time, we went unprepared in a last minute decision. Besides, it's a smaller thing this time- no tattoo station, no make your own sub station, just a small party."

"_**I dunno…"**_

"Come on, Clyde, trust me on this. Do you have everything you'll need?"

"_**Yeah, I think so. Swimwear, towel, sunscreen, life ring, guide to CPR-"**_

"You really think you'll need that?"

"_**Doesn't hurt to have it."**_

Lincoln chuckled slightly, giving a soft shake of his head. "Well, sounds like you've got everything, and I know I do too. I'll see you there."

After Clyde replied in kind, Lincoln turned off the walkie talkie and put it away. He then looked out the window at the front garden, seeing that there was no one in sight. He then walked over to his door and peered out, seeing that it was also empty before closing the door. A quick step onto his desk chair and peer into the vents saw that they were just as empty, which was less surprising given how many of the Louds ever went in them. Hopping down from his chair, he turned to the viewer.

"Hey, there," he said in a somewhat hushed tone. "Been a while, huh? So, as you may know, Jordan invited me, the guys and Stella to a pool party at her house, and while some of us were… reasonably uncertain," a blush spread across his face as the memories resurfaced, "we decided it would be better to go and risk something embarrassing happening than put up with this heatwave, which has reportedly hit record highs for the state. Now, I don't think what happened last time will happen again, given that we're actually _planning _on going to this one, but there is one issue that lies in my way: getting past my sisters. If they find out I'm going to a pool party, they're going to try and come along too, and if I said yes, Jordan would see what happens when they go to pools, and I'll get banned from there as well! It's bad enough with public pools, but a friend's pool? Not taking that risk. Fortunately, I have a plan."

He stepped out onto the landing, gently closing the door behind him and making sure the two nearest bedrooms to his were empty before continuing to talk. "Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan and Lisa are all busy, and Lily won't be a problem. That just leaves Lynn, Lucy and the twins, but that doesn't make it any easier- Lucy could be absolutely anywhere, Lynn will catch me instantly if she sees me, and if Lola and Lana are working on Lola's princess car, I'm in trouble. Basically, I have to be stealthy if I want to go to the-" He paused to do a quick double check, before whispering to the viewer, "pool party."

So, Lincoln slowly descended the staircase, stopping about a quarter of the way down to look into the living room. While his baby sister was currently sat with her mother watching cartoons- though, it was more that the former was watching while the other seemed to be in a heatwave-induced nap, with a handheld fan whirring away in her hand- the room was otherwise empty, so he slowly made his way downstairs, only for him to step on a squeaky toy at the last second, making him panic. He calmed down when he realised that only Lily had heard it, so he made a "shush" gesture to her, placing his finger against his lips, and Lily copied the gesture back, making him smile and give a slight chuckle.

He walked towards the front door, but before he could get there, he saw Lynn skate by the front window, making him dart into the kitchen and lean next to the refrigerator. He waited a moment, making sure Lynn wasn't coming in through the front door, before exhaling. "Too close…" He then decided to peer out the back door window, and while he didn't see Lucy, he did see the twins- Lola was sat in a sun bed under a beach umbrella, wearing her usual pink dress- how she could stand it was beyond the boy- as well as a sun hat and sunglasses, a glass of lemonade resting on a little plastic table while she fanned herself with a hand fan. Lana, who was wearing denim shorts instead of her usual dungarees, along with her usual green shirt- was running around with Charles. "Okay, the twins are out back, and Lynn's out front. I can get past Lynn if I time it right, but I'll have to go around the house, which means getting past the twins first. Hmm…" As he thought, he looked down slightly and noticed a tennis ball, making him grin. "Bingo."

Deciding it was now or never, he opened the door as quietly as possible, making sure he hadn't alerted the twins before making a blitz play- he grabbed the ball and through it past Lana and Charles, making sure it caught their attention. When they saw it, they stopped for a second before running after it, heading right past Lola and knocking her lemonade off the table and onto the pageant princess, making her give a shrill squeal.

"Lana!" She yelled, standing up from her sun bed and running after the tomboy and the dog. "You're gonna get it now!"

Lincoln saw the two argue and later engage in a fight cloud, and while he was feeling slightly guilty for causing it, he knew it was a desperation move, so he put it out of mind. He used the chaos as opportunity to head through the backyard and head towards the sidewalk, but before he got there, he saw Lynn skate past again, so he leapt into the nearby bush to avoid detection. Fortunately for him, she hadn't seen him.

"Okay, I think I lost her."

"Great. Let's go."

"Yeah, let's- Wait a minute." Looking to his left, he saw that Leni was also in the bush he was in, wearing a plain white t-shirt over her two piece seafoam green swimsuit with white details, plus a seafoam swim cap with a white bow. "Leni! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just waiting for Lynn to leave."

"Why?"

"Because I'm heading to a pool party at Jen's place." It took a moment before realisation set in and her wide smile fell. "Dang it."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow to his sister. "Wait a minute, you're heading to a pool party at Jen's place?"

"Yeah, Jordan's throwing one and she needed Jen to watch over her because her parents had work things, so Jen invited me." She cupped her hands and gave him puppy dog eyes. "Please don't tell the others, Linky! I don't want to get banned from Jen's pool!"

He gave a soft chuckle as he lowered her hands with his own. "Leni, Jordan invited me to the pool party. Why do you think I'm hiding here?"

And just like that, the smile returned to Leni's face. "Oh, well, why didn't you say so?"

He rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Now, how do we get past Lynn?" At that moment, he saw the tennis ball he had thrown before to distract the twins bounce through the bush and into his hands, making him grin. "Scratch that. I think I have an idea."

* * *

At the Rosato household, Jen was heading out of her room, wearing a red and white striped two piece swimsuit, a white summer skirt over the bottom piece, white flip flops and red framed shades. As she headed down the landing, she heard something coming from the room on her left which belonged to her younger sister. Curious, she poked her head in and saw Jordan searching through her drawers, still in her regular clothes and muttering to herself. "Hey, sis?" Jen spoke up. "Your friends are gonna be here soon, shouldn't you be in your pool gear?"

"I can't find it," Jordan replied, poking her head up. "You haven't taken it, have you?"

"Nope. Haven't seen it either, sorry." The younger girl gave an irritated groan. "Y'know, I might have something you could wear instead." The younger Rosato raised an eyebrow in confusion, but before she could ask, the older girl told her, "hang on," before walking away. Jordan wondered what it was that Jen had, but when she saw Jen return and lay out the swimsuit on her bed, she blushed.

"I-I dunno, sis."

"What are you talking about? You'll look great in it!" She could see Jordan was about to retort some more, but the sudden sound of the doorbell ringing made her go pale instead. "Guess that's your friends. I'll go answer the door, and you can either continue looking for your regular swimsuit, or get changed in this. Your choice."

"Well… thanks, I guess."

"No problem, sis." Jen heard her sister muttering something as she left the room, but didn't pay it any attention as she headed downstairs. Once she got to the front door, she opened it and saw that it was Mollie, Kat, Joy and Sadie, all wearing their usual swimsuits and carrying their bags on their backs. "Hey, girls. Jordan's just getting ready, so head on round back."

"Thanks, Jen," Mollie replied, before she and the others headed toward the gate on the side of the house. As Jen was about to close the door, she saw Lincoln and Leni heading down the sidewalk, along with Clyde, Liam, Zach, Rusty and Stella. The four boys were dressed like Lincoln was, albeit with plain shirts and with different coloured swim shorts- red for Zach, blue for Clyde, green for Rusty and brown for Liam- while Stella was wearing a red one piece swimsuit with a white floral pattern. "I didn't know you guys were invited too."

"Yeah, Jordan invited us after gym class yesterday," Lincoln explained.

"Well, I'm guessing she let mom and dad know yesterday, so the more, the merrier, I guess. Head round back, the others just got here. Jordan will be down in a minute, and I'm just gonna go get my speakers."

"I'll help you with that," Leni offered, before turning to her brother. "I'll see you in a bit, Linky."

"Sure thing, Leni."

So, while the two high schoolers went into the house, the elementary schoolers went around the side of the house and through the open gate to the backyard, where they saw the pool and smiled, glad to know they would be able to cool off. "When you guys first said Jordan had a pool, I wasn't expecting this!" Stella marvelled.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet," Rusty agreed.

"Hey, Loud!" They heard Mollie call, waving them over. Doing just that, the boys and Stella approached the girls, seeing the smirk on the brunette's face. "Glad you showed up! Ready to get beaten again, undies?"

The boys save for Liam all blushed, while Stella gave a giggle, having heard the day before about why the boys were hesitant about the pool party. "First of all," Lincoln bashfully pointed out, "I'd really rather forget about what happened last time."

"Never gonna happen!" Joy butted in, getting her friends to giggle while Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, Joy." He then turned his attention back to Mollie and smirked. "More importantly, you can't beat me again if you've never beaten me."

"What are you talking about? I beat you at Jordan's first pool party."

"Not really. Can't beat someone if the competition never begins."

"He's got you there, Mollie," they heard a familiar voice call, turning to see Artie approach, wearing a grey tank top with his red swim shorts with white stripes down the sides. "So, how come you guys aren't already in the pool?"

"We're waiting for Jordan," Kat explained.

"Oh, okay."

"Jordan, come on, you're being silly!" They could hear Jen say from inside the house. "You'll be fine."

"Yeah, you look totes great!" Leni could also be heard saying.

"Well… if you're sure." While Lincoln and the others were wondering what they had been talking about, the Loud boy quickly got his answer, and for a moment, time seemed to slow down. He watched as the youngest Rosato exited the patio doors, and was surprised to see that she was wearing a yellow two piece swimsuit- the top piece was a sport top, while the bottom piece was a skirted bottom. Instead of her usual braided ponytail, she had her hair down, hanging just past her shoulders and framing her face, which bore a nervous expression. Jordan didn't seem to notice the boy's gaze at first, instead turning to her bestie. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Nah, we got here about a minute ago, so it's cool," Mollie assured her.

"Is that a new swimsuit?" Sadie asked, making her friend bashfully rub the back of her arm.

"Uh… sorta."

"It looks great!" Stella complimented, which got the other girls complimenting her as well.

"R-really? You don't think it looks… I dunno, silly?"

"Girl, you look great," Joy insisted.

"Yeah, you've already got Lincoln going gaga over you," Mollie added, making Lincoln snap out of his gaze and turn bright red. When Jordan turned around and saw his bashful face, she couldn't help but blush as well. "See what I mean?"

Ignoring some of the giggles coming from the other girls, Jordan cleared her throat. "Well, uh, this heatwave isn't gonna go away just yet, so what are we waiting for? Let's get this pool party started!"

"Last one in's a pile of manure!" Liam called out, leading the charge towards the pool as the kids tossed their bags aside, the boys putting their tops with them. They all ran up to the pool's edge and leapt in, each making their own big splash as they entered the water before resurfacing a moment later. "My, that's refreshing!"

"It sure is!" Kat agreed, looking over to the hostess. "Thanks for inviting us, Jordan!"

"No problem," she replied. "Now, come on, let's have some fun!"

"Hey, don't forget about us!" They heard Jen speak as she and Leni emerged from the house, the former carrying a speaker and her phone over to the bench table. Placing the speaker on top of the table, she searched through her phone before finding the right playlist and pressing play, making a pop song echo from the speaker. "There we go, now we've got a party! Party on, guys!"

* * *

So, for the next hour and a bit, the kids enjoyed the pool party, thankful to be able to keep cool during the heatwave. They spent the time chilling in the pool, swimming around, engaging in splash fights and mini races, and at one point, Jen brought out a net so they could play some volleyball in the pool, with Jordan and Lincoln's team winning two games and Mollie and Artie's team winning one. Eventually, Mollie got out of the pool and turned to the others. "Alright, Loud!" She called out with a smirk, getting everyone's attention. "Let's settle this once and for all! You and me, cannonball contest!"

Lincoln returned the smirk. "You're on, Mollie!" He shot back.

"Oh, boy! Everyone out of the pool!" Clyde yelled out, a warning that everyone took seriously. It only took a few seconds for everyone to get out of the water and stand by one of the fences. "So, how are you going to decide?"

"We're gonna do one jump each," Mollie explained, staring down her opponent. "No more than four bounces on the diving board. Best cannonball wins."

"Sounds good to me," Lincoln replied, not missing a beat.

"But, how are you going to decide whose is best?" Sadie asked.

"Why don't some of us judge them?" Stella suggested, and while some of the other girls were shaking their heads, Mollie quickly jumped at it.

"Great idea, Stella! You want to be one of the judges?" The Filipino girl gave a small shrug then nodded. "Cool. I'll let you pick the other two, Loud."

Though Lincoln rolled his eyes at this, he looked back to the others and thought for a second. "Let's see… Artie, you okay with judging?"

"Sure, no problem," the boy replied, walking over to where Stella was now stood, separate from the others.

"Thanks. For the other judge…" He was considering one of the other guys, but he then decided on someone else. "Since you're the host, Jordan, would you like to judge?"

Though Jordan was initially hoping not to get brought into this, she found the way that Lincoln asked to be quite polite. "Well… I guess that's fair, sure."

"Interesting choices," Mollie mused, a bit of mischief in her eyes. "No matter. Now, you have no excuses if I beat you."

"And you have no excuses _when _I beat you." There was a bit of murmuring in response to Lincoln's comeback, but he paid it no mind. "Ladies first."

Mollie scoffed. "Sure. You know what they say, 'lead by example'." Mollie walked around the side of the pool towards the diving board. As everyone watched on, Mollie stepped onto the base of the board and shot a confident look Lincoln's way. "Watch and learn, Loud!"

She slowly made her way along the diving board, before eventually jumping onto the end of it. She made one bounce, two bounces, three bounces, and on the fourth bounce, she jumped up and forward, tucking her legs into her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees, rising in the air and then falling down into the pool below, creating a large splash as she broke through the surface. Everyone watching on gave applause, albeit with Lincoln's being a slow clap, as Mollie eventually resurfaced with a gasp. She turned to Lincoln in the water and yelled, "beat that!"

"Not bad," he told her, "but I can beat that."

"Ha! We'll see!"

They both turned their attention to the judges, who were discussing with each other before Jordan eventually stepped forward. "With scores of nine from Stella, ten from Artie, and nine from myself, Mollie has set the bar at twenty eight!" She declared. "Lincoln, it's your turn. You need twenty nine to win, twenty eight to tie."

Lincoln didn't say anything to this, just nodding to the 'head judge' before making his way around the pool whilst Mollie vacated the water. Once she was clear, Lincoln stepped onto the board, took a deep breath and let it go before making his way down the board. Once at the end, he did the same as what Mollie did- first one bounce, then two, then three- except before he made the fourth bounce, he bent one leg and lifted it up, meaning the fourth bounce was on one foot, and after he did, everyone was surprised at the height that Lincoln had achieved, as well as the perfect three sixty degree rotation as he tucked his legs in, before eventually meeting the water and creating a mighty splash, one that got the crowd clapping and cheering, and made Mollie widen her eyes and drop her jaw. It took a couple of seconds, but Lincoln eventually resurfaced with a gasp and turned his attention to the judges, who made a quick decision.

"The judges give Lincoln scores of ten, ten and ten!" Jordan announced with a smile. "Therefore, with a score of thirty, Lincoln is the winner, and the official cannonball champion!"

The crowd cheered once more, with Lincoln pumping his fist in the air. He took one look at Mollie and saw that she was still in shock, so he decided to swim over and climb out of the pool, then walk over to her. Extending his hand, he looked her in the eye and said, "good game, Mollie."

She eventually snapped out of her confused state and smirked at him. "You too, Loud," she replied, shaking his hand. "Gotta admit, you got some moves. But I'll still beat you next time."

"Not on my watch."

They both laughed a little, not noticing that Jen was coming out of the house, some food in her hands. "Hey, guys!" She called out. "I'm gonna start the barbecue!"

"FOOD!"

The blunt exclamation of Rusty got everyone heading over towards the bench, each lining up by the barbecue as the high schooler cooked some burgers on it, while Leni laid out some food to go with the burgers- cheese, lettuce, onions, ketchup and clearly labelled hot sauce- on a table, and pulled out a cooler from under it which contained sodas. As the line for the food got shorter, Lincoln looked behind him and saw that Jordan was at the back, so he decided to let some of the others cut behind him and join her.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Doesn't seem fair that the host should be last to get their food," he answered. "Figured I'd let you get yours first."

She smirked, raised an eyebrow and placed her hand on her hip. "Who knew you were such a gentleman?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, living with ten sisters, including one who acts like an actual princess, it kind of comes with the territory." She giggled, which made him chuckle some more before the queue moved forward some more. "So, the pool party's going pretty well. Thanks for letting us join it."

"No problem! Glad you're all enjoying yourselves!" Her smile then dropped slightly. "I'll be honest, I was slightly nervous earlier."

Lincoln lost his smile, instead looking confused. "Why were you nervous?"

"Well…" She hesitated for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

He sensed that her tone had lowered a bit, concerning him that he had something wrong. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you want to, I'm right here."

She looked back at him and saw the gentle smile he gave her, and though part of her mind was telling her not to, but something about the boy made her feel like he could be honest with her. "Well… do you think I look… okay like this?"

"… what do you mean?"

She suddenly felt her cheeks heating up a bit. "Well… I wasn't planning on wearing… well, this. I couldn't find my regular swimsuit, and Jen said she had this, but… honestly, I don't think I look good in this."

Though he was doing his best not to turn red from blushing, he was more surprised at what she was saying, particularly what she was saying about herself. Not wanting to let her say anymore, he placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her to meet his gaze. "Jordan… I hope you don't mind me saying this, but… you would look good no matter what you wear. Personally, I think you look… v-very pretty like this."

Though her cheeks were turning very red, she couldn't help but smile. "R-really?"

"Y-yeah. Yellow is… d-definitely y-your colour."

She couldn't help but giggle, finding his comment cute, and this was only heightened by how his blush grew. "You're sweet, Lincoln. Thank you."

"No problem."

The sound of a throat clearing behind them alerted them to the fact that the line had been shortened to just the two of them, with Jen waiting with a smirk on her face, two paper plates with burgers on buns in her hands. "You two can keep talking to each other, or you can get your burgers before they go cold," she told them, making them blush even more. As they took the burgers and thanked her, Jen watched them walk away, and as they began to add to their meal, she couldn't help but think, 'those two are so cute together, and they don't even realise it.' She shook her head, before beginning to cook some burgers for her and Leni. 'Give it time. They'll figure it out.'


	54. Ch 54- Breaking The Silence

**(A/N: quick thing I want to point out- just like fashion, I know nothing about roller derby, so this is all based on what I've found online. If it's wrong, do let me know.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

It was Sunday in Royal Woods, and for one Lynn Loud Jr, she was making the most of it. "Oh, yeah! This is more like it!" she cheered as she skated around the derby rink, moving left and right as she did so in order to avoid bumping into her teammates. It was the first practice session she had been able to attend since her leg injury, the one from the week before having been cancelled due to the coach being ill after a bad meal. While Lynn had been irritated by this, she shrugged it off and continued to train by herself. She had already been able to return to basketball and softball practice, and now that she was finally able to do roller derby again, her solo training had paid off. She hadn't missed a step, and the feeling of skating round that rink felt better than ever. She skated further ahead, so that she was now alongside her bestie. "Gotta tell ya, Margo… I've missed this."

"Well, it's good to have you back, Lynn," she replied to her friend. "Now, come on. Our jammer's under pressure." Looking ahead, Lynn saw that one of their teammates, who had stars on their helmet whereas theirs were plain, was being charged upon by two members of the team. "What's the tactic?"

"Same as usual, Margo: 'the close in'. You go left, I go right, we block them into each other."

"Got it!"

So, the two of them skated ahead, passing through the crowd of other blockers. They took to the different sides of the play zone: Margo skating near the cones on the inside, and Lynn skating alongside the barricade on the outside. As they skated further ahead, they neared the two blockers closing in on the jammer, who was nearing the furthest forward blocker, hoping to get a grand slam. Lynn closed in on her blocker, leaning in and saying, "on your right!" The blocker tried to barge into her, only for Lynn to dodge it and then appear on her left. "On your left!"

She tried to block her again, only for Lynn to dodge, sending her into the other blocker. Margo used the opportunity to barge into them, causing her to fall to her knees and fall further behind the pack, leaving the other blocker between Margo and Lynn. She looked back and forth between the two and smirked, first faking a block to Margo before hitting a rough shoulder barge to Lynn, causing her to spin and fall back slightly, allowing the blocker to get further ahead. Lynn quickly recovered, and as she picked up her speed once again she looked to her friend. "Margo! Slingshot!"

"You got it!"

So, Lynn skated toward her friend, who held a hand out behind her. Once Lynn grabbed hold of the outstretched hand, Margo pulled her forward, transferring her momentum to her teammate. The extra speed allowed Lynn to quickly close the gap between her and the blocker, and with a quick sideward tackle, she took her down. Looking ahead, she saw her teammate dodge the other blocker before surpassing her, leading to the ref blowing the whistle. "Grand slam!" they declared, leading to Lynn and her teammates cheering.

"Oh, yeah!" As she celebrated, Lynn turned to the blocker she had knocked down and extended a hand to her. "Nice to see you aren't taking it easy on me."

The blocker smirked, getting up with Lynn's help. "Nice to see you haven't been taking it easy on yourself!"

"What, you think I'm gonna just sit around for weeks? I'd go out of my mind!"

"Yeah, that sounds like Lynnsanity."

The Loud girl smirked back at her. "You better believe it."

* * *

"Ah, it feels good to skate again," Lynn told her friend as they skated down the sidewalk. Practice was over, and they were skating towards her house, the rest of their stuff in the bags on their backs. "Knowing that you guys were practicing without me made all that waiting around suck hard, you know?"

Margo chuckled, her friend not surprising her in the slightest. "Yeah, I can imagine. Still, we couldn't just _not _practice, could we?"

Lynn chuckled back. "Nah, you're right. Gotta get those wins, and you don't get them just sitting around." She saw her house appearing at the end of the street. "So, you heading back to your place now, or you wanna hang out for a bit?"

"Can't. I've got a chemistry assignment due tomorrow, and my mom's saying I can't go to basketball practice if my grades drop lower."

"Yeah, I still need to get my English assignment done. I'd lend you Lisa, but she'd probably want something in return, and I don't even want to think about that would be." Both girls shuddered at the thought. "Guess I'll catch you at school, then."

"You too, Lynn."

The two shared a fist bump before Margo skated away, leaving Lynn to head towards her house. She skated up to the front steps and sat down at them, taking her skates off and trading them for her regular sneakers before taking a content sigh. 'Finally getting back into the groove of things,' she thought to herself, before getting up and heading inside. After shutting the door behind her and seeing that the twins were using the TV, she knew that she wasn't going to be likely to convince them to let her use it for a bit, so she headed upstairs into her bedroom. She saw her English book lying open on her desk and sighed. "Well, no point in waiting, I guess. It's not gonna do itself… unfortunately."

She took her seat at the chair against the desk and picked up her pen, preparing to begin the assignment… only for her to stop the second the pen met the paper. It was no secret that Lynn was… well, not the most academically inclined, particularly when it came to English. She wasn't failing in any of her subjects, though a lot of that was in part due to Lisa's aid with revision. English, however, was a subject that the toddler PhD wasn't particularly helpful with. While her grammar was impeccable and she had no issues with teaching that, literature was less her forte, and Lynn's assignment was to write a short piece in first person. She might have been fine if she got to choose what she wrote about, but the prompt they were given kind of limited her.

"Why did it have to be 'theatre'?" She groaned, planting her head on the desk after a solid minute of achieving nothing.

"Lynn?"

The jock screamed, unintentionally throwing herself backward and falling off her chair and on the back. After the initial impact caused her to wince and rub the back of her head in pain, she groggily looked up and saw her little sister/roommate stood above her, looking down. "Seriously, Luce? I just recovered from a leg injury, I don't need a concussion too."

"Sigh… sorry."

"Nah, it's cool, just try not to jump on me when I'm… well, _trying _to get my English work done." She sat up before getting to her feet, dusting herself off. "Trying be the right word for it."

"Do you want some help?"

"Really? That would actually help me a-" Though Lynn initially smiled at the offer, she then gave her goth sister a weary look. "Wait a minute… you never offer to help me with my English work. Why now?"

"Can't I help you just for helping you?" The five second long, silent stare that Lynn gave her was response enough to tell her that she didn't believe it, so the third grader sighed. "Actually, I need your help with something."

"Thought so. What is it, another bully? Someone disturb your favourite gravestone? Who've I gotta beat up?"

"It's nothing like that. Besides, if someone disturbed one of the gravestones, I'd try and place a curse on them."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Of course. So, what is it then?"

"Well…" She began rubbing the back of her arm, something Lynn rarely saw her do but knew to be a telltale sign that she was nervous about what she was going to say. "You remember last week, when you kicked me out of our room?"

"Kicked you o- ohh…"

* * *

_The prior Sunday, Lucy was sat in her coffin, reading poetry to her bust of Edwin. "And solemnly I sleep tonight, in hope of reaching a new day's light," she concluded as she lowered the paper in her hands, trading it for the bust. "How was that, Edwin? Too somber, or just somber enough?" The bust, for obvious reasons, didn't talk back, but Lucy could imagine what he would say, and it brought a small smile to her face. "Oh, Edwin. I long for the day that I can meet someone like you. Someone who understands me, who I can relate my poetry to, who I can hold close and-" Her talk was interrupted by the door bursting open, making her sigh. "Not get interrupted." She looked towards the now open doorway and saw Lynn pushing in… a whiteboard? "Lynn? What are you doing?"_

"_Hey, Luce," the jock replied as she pushed the whiteboard towards her desk. "Can't talk, private stuff. Actually, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because me and Leni have to have a private conversation, and I doubt Lori's gonna let us kick her out of her room. Besides, I already told her to meet me here. Come on, do me a solid, will ya? It'll be, like, five to ten minutes, and then you can come around and talk to your vampire head."_

"_It's not-" She silently seethed for a few seconds, before letting out another sigh. "Fine."_

"_Cheers, Luce."_

_The goth didn't offer her a response, simply getting out of the coffin, placing Edwin's bust back on its shelf and leaving the room. Since she knew the downstairs TV was already in use, she decided to go into the vents and do some poetry. She kept a spare book and pencil up there in case she didn't have access to her regular poetry journal, so all she had to do was get into the vents. Heading into the bathroom, she climbed onto the toilet tank, lifted up the vent cover and clambered into the ventilation system, silently crawling along until she found the book and pencil lay in right next to the vent cover by her room. _

'_There we go,' she thought to herself, not wanting Lynn to hear her and kick her out, since this was the best place for her to think. As she began to write her poetry, she didn't really pay attention to what Lynn was doing, only faintly acknowledging the closing of the door to her room. However, she didn't get too far into her latest poetic creation before something caught her attention._

"_Okay, let me put it a bit more clearly," she heard Lynn saying below. "Lincoln needs to figure out which of our sisters to tell next, so we're going to help him figure that by weighing out their pros and cons."_

'_What?' Lucy didn't hear what Leni said in response, due to being caught off guard by this. 'What would Lincoln have trouble telling us? And what does Lynn mean by pros and cons?' Her attention now drawn away from her poetry, she silently slid along the vent so she could peer into her room and see what the jock and fashionista were doing. What she saw was a picture of her second youngest on the whiteboard Lynn had brought in, and as the two older girls spoke, Lynn would occasionally write something on the board, either under __**pros**__ or __**cons**__. 'They're… figuring out who can keep a secret? But, what kind of secret would Lincoln go to this length to keep?'_

"_Alright, next we've got Lola," Lynn spoke once again, having reset the board and putting another photo on it. "What do we got for her?"_

"_Well… he's her pageant coach," Leni responded. "Maybe him doing gymnastics can help her with that?"_

'_Gymnastics?' It took her a second before she realised what they were talking about. 'Gasp!'_

* * *

"So… you heard what we were talking about," Lynn spoke, not giving away how she was feeling about this revelation that her younger sister had dropped on her.

Lucy, feeling nervous about this, gave a small nod. "I hadn't meant to, but… I did." Lynn gave a nod of her own, not saying anything for a good few seconds. "You're… mad at me, aren't you?"

The brunette looked down, giving a heavy sigh before finally frowning. "Well, I'm not happy, that's for sure. If that had been about something else, I'd probably be making you sleep somewhere else tonight." She looked up at her sister, and though she couldn't see the goth's eyes through her hair, she could tell she had her attention. "But… there's three questions I've got to ask you. First of all, and I need you to be completely honest with me here, Luce- have you told anyone?"

"Not a soul. I haven't even consulted the spirits over this."

Lynn stared at her for a second, then nodded, satisfied that her answer was honest. "Alright, question two. Why have you waited this long to tell me about this?"

"Because…" She looked down slightly, rubbing the back of her arm. "Because I've been trying to think about how to tell Lincoln. Tell him that… that I don't think less of him for it, and that he doesn't have to keep it secret from me or the others. I don't want him to feel like he has to hide this from me." She sighed after a few seconds of silence, and when she looked up, she was surprised to see Lynn smiling at her. "What?"

"You've just answered my third question, and it was the right answer." Lucy didn't respond, not knowing how to while Lynn placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lucy, I appreciate you keeping this to yourself, and I know Lincoln will when you tell him."

"But… I don't know what to tell him."

The jock's chuckle told her that she thought otherwise. "Lucy, you've just said what you need to tell him right now. When he gets back, if you tell him that, not only will he not be mad at you, but he'll be grateful to know that that's how you feel."

"You think so?" When her roommate nodded, she gave a sliver of a smile as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "Thanks, Lynn."

"Ah, come here, Spooky."

She returned the hug for a few seconds, enjoying the rare moment of affection from the young goth before she let go. "So, what do you need help with?"

"Oh, right. You know what, Luce? I'll have a go by myself for a bit, and come back to you if I need to. You just chill until Linc gets back, 'kay?" Though she was surprised, Lucy didn't pass up on it, returning to her bed and picking up her latest Vampires of Melancholia book, leaving Lynn to return to her desk with a smile on her face. 'I'll probably regret not letting her help,' she thought as she grabbed her pen again, 'but she deserves to relax. She needs to tell him, and it's probably been weighing on her a lot.'

* * *

It wasn't much later when Lincoln appeared through the front door to the house, having returned from another fun practice session. His sisters sat on the couch saw the smile on his face. "Have fun at dodgeball, bro?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, it was a good session," he replied. "I'll join you guys for Dream Boat soon. If I'm late, you can start without me."

While the rest of the girls all agreed as he made his way upstairs, Lucy turned to Lynn, who gave her a confident smile. "You've got this," she mouthed.

With a nod, Lucy wordlessly got up and headed upstairs, walking up to her brother's bedroom and knocking on the open door, getting the boy's attention. "Lucy?" He asked. "What's up?"

"I… wanted to talk to you about something," she told her brother. "Something I couldn't talk about in front of the others."

"Oh… uh, yeah, sure. Come on in." Once the girl was stood against the bed, he closed the door and turned to face her again. "So, what's up?"

"Well…" She took a deep breath and let it out, before finally telling him. "I know that you don't really do dodgeball."

Lincoln blinked, caught off guard by the sudden admittance. "Y-you know?"

Lucy nodded. "Last Sunday, I accidentally overheard Lynn talking with Leni about it, and that you actually do gymnastics." She saw the boy open his mouth, so she quickly added, "I haven't told anyone. I promise."

He shook his head lightly. "That wasn't what I was going to say. If you found out last weekend… why didn't you tell me?"

She looked down slightly, worried that Lincoln was in fact mad with her. "I… I didn't know… what to say to you. I was going to try to tell you yesterday, but… well, you went out. I tried writing a poem to tell you, but I just couldn't find the words, because I didn't-"

She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Lincoln knelt down in front of her, looking her in the eyes as best he could through her bangs. "Lucy. It's okay. It's just you and me, so… you can tell me."

After hearing this, she felt the words start to form in her head, and with them came fresh tears. "I'm sorry, Lincoln. I'm sorry that I made you think you couldn't tell me, and… I want you to know that I don't mind. If you enjoy doing gymnastics, then I'm happy for you. I would never think less of you because of it, and I know it's hard for you to tell the others, but I'll always support you."

Hearing these emotional words come from the younger girl made his lips curl upwards into a smile. "You mean that?" She nodded, causing a couple of tears to drop down, so he wiped them away with his thumbs. "Lucy… thank you. I've been worried about what you and the others would think, which is why that I haven't told you all by now. I know it probably sounds silly."

"Not at all. After all, you're the only person I've told about… well, you know."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant- it was what he originally thought she wanted to talk about- before pulling her into a hug that she returned in kind. "But, knowing that you feel that way… well, it really helps, you know? I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Lincoln. I promise, I won't tell anyone, either."

"Thanks."

"But, can you do something for me?"

Though he released the hug, he kept his hands on her shoulders. "Sure, Lucy. What is it?"

"Go take a shower. You need one."

Though he was momentarily stunned, the two of them shared a laugh at her joke. "Yeah, you're right. Go on, Spooky. I'll join you girls downstairs when I'm done." As she nodded and headed out of the bedroom, the smile on his face spoke volumes of the weight that had been lifted from his shoulders. 'I've still got a way to go, but… I think things might turn out okay.'


	55. Ch 55- Mapped Together

"Aww!" Lincoln gave a small blush at the cooing that Jordan made, having just heard from the Loud boy about how the latest of his sisters was let in on his secret. "That sounds really sweet!"

"Well, it's not often that Lucy opens up like that with any of us, so I appreciate her doing that," he told her, taking the last bite from his muffin. "I wasn't sure when or how I'd be able to talk to her about this stuff."

"Well, now you don't have to," Artie pointed out. "So, that's… what, your third sister?"

Lincoln nodded, to which Mollie joked, "three down and seven to go. You might get done by New Year's if you're lucky."

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "First of all, Lily's not even two, so even if I told her, she wouldn't understand it."

"Still, you've told one sister a week," Joy argued. "If you keep going at that pace, it's gonna take you six weeks before the rest of your sisters know, and that'll be next year. Do you really want to take that long to have to tell them?"

"Well, no, I…" He struggled for a second to find the words, the others at the table looking at him expectantly, before he gave a small sigh. "I don't _want _to take that long, but I don't want to rush it either, because that'll be how I mess it up." While this confused some of the people sat at the table, they were more confused by the dry laugh he gave shortly after. "It's funny. Despite all the jokes you guys and everyone else have made, and how stupid it was, there's one thing that the girl guru incident reminded me of. Something that, had I realised before that, would have meant I avoided the whole thing, and I wouldn't have salt and vinegar pies thrown at me."

Though there were a couple of chuckles from his friends at that last part, only Jordan said anything. "What's that?"

He turned to her, and she noticed the sad smile he had. "Every girl is different, and knowing what makes them different? That's how you figure out how to approach them, or what to say to them. That's why I think I'm taking my time telling my sisters. I can't just say the same thing to each of them, because they're not the same person. That's why I feel like I have to plan things out with them." He then looked down at the table in front of him, trying to hide the saddening look in his eyes. "It's why I've taken so long, and… why I'm still worried about how they'll react."

Jordan couldn't help but give a sad smile similar to his own, hearing the way he truly felt about this. Even the others felt a little bad about how they had teased Lincoln now, but were also thankful he had learnt from the experience. While no one said anything at first, Jordan was the first to break the silence again, getting Lincoln's attention as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up too much over this," she reminded him. "You've figured things out so far, and I know you'll figure out how to tell the others."

He instantly turned his sad smile into a happy one at hearing this, patting her hand with his. "Thanks, Jordan."

"I mean it. Plus, you said so yourself. You felt better about all this after you and Lucy spoke."

"True, though I think that part of that is because she's the first of my younger sisters to know."

"It makes sense," Kat spoke up with a nod. "Little kids might be less understanding when it comes to stuff like that." Once she said this, however, she noticed that Lincoln's smile dropped a bit, making her regret. "Oops… sorry."

He shook his head softly, picking his smile back up. "Don't be, you're right. That's something I need to consider as well."

"Well, it's like Jordan said," Sadie offered. "Don't think too hard about it, you'll figure it out."

"Thanks, guys." At that moment, they heard the bell ringing. "Well, guess it's time to head back to class."

"It's my turn to handle trays, so you can pass them to me," Artie pointed out.

With no one arguing, they handed their trays with everything on them to Artie, those who still has juice in their juice boxes taking them with them. Lincoln walked alongside Jordan, still talking about gymnastics stuff, when he felt someone barge into his shoulder, and he regretted turning his head when he saw that it was Markus. "Really?"

"Hey, you're the one blocking my way!" the dark haired boy taunted. "I see your shiner's gone, by the way. Want me to give you a new one?"

"Get lost, Markus," Jordan interrupted. "I thought you were supposed to be getting a three day suspension?"

"My mom gave a call to Huggins, and he changed it to just Friday."

"Seriously?!"

"Let it go, Jordan," Lincoln interrupted. "Let's just ignore him and head to class."

"Aww, listen to him! Sounds like loser doesn't want to see his girlfriend get hurt!"

Though there were some titters from people nearby that heard, Jordan and Lincoln both rolled their eyes, the former turning to her friend and saying, "you're right. Let's go."

So, they walked away, ignoring the extra taunts Markus yelled their way. "Sorry about that."

Jordan looked at Lincoln, her eyebrow raised in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he wouldn't be treating you like that if he didn't have a problem with me."

"Lincoln, you're being silly. Don't apologise for him being a jerk, that's just the way he is. Can't change that." She perked her smile up a bit as she added, "besides, it's gonna take more than someone like Markus to stop me from hanging out with my friend, you know?"

Immediately, Lincoln's smile matched hers. "Thanks, Jordan."

"No problem, Lincoln."

* * *

"Okay, class!" Mrs Johnson announced once everyone in her class was in their seats, bringing their conversations swiftly to an end. "I hope you've all had a good lunchtime, but it's time for geography. We'll be resuming our regular lesson on Wednesday, but today we'll be doing something different. I was going to start this particular lesson last week, but the heatwave made me reschedule that, and now that it's over, it's time for us to begin this semester's project." She heard a few groans from the class, but she simply gave a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, this one is a rather fun one, if I do say so myself, and it is a pairs project." She saw more than a few of her students looking across the classroom, looking for their friend to see if they would work together. "For this assignment, you will work with a partner of my choosing." Once again, this was met with groans, but she paid it no mind. "And you will be working together to create a ten minute travel presentation, based on a country in Europe. You will pick your country by choosing from here," she held up a bowl filled with paper balls, "and you will work together to create the presentation. It's up to you how you style your presentation, what areas you cover and who looks into what, but I am expecting equal cooperation from both you and your partner. The assignment will be worth fifteen percent of your grade for this class, and will be presented in two weeks."

"Fifteen percent?" Rusty muttered to Zach. "That's not good."

"Nope," Zach muttered back.

"So, now that you know the task and what's at stake, let's find out who you'll be working with." She put her hand into a different bowl filled with paper balls, pulling out two that she opened up. "Clyde and Chloe."

Whilst the teacher continued pulling names out of the bowl, Lincoln saw as Clyde turned around and gave a wave and a smile to the girl in the pink beret at the back of the class, the girl giggling as she waved back. "You two have definitely been getting along well," he acknowledged.

Clyde gave a quiet but happy sigh. "Yeah," he told the white haired boy. "I feel like we're really getting to know each other better, and…"

Lincoln didn't need his friend to finish that sentence. "I know, buddy. I'm happy for you."

The boys were taken out of their conversation when they next heard Mrs Johnson say, "Lincoln and Girl Jordan."

Though Lincoln was surprised by this, when he looked over at Jordan, the two smiled at each other, something the bespectacled boy took notice of as well. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?"

With a roll of his eyes, Lincoln assured him, "we're just friends, that's all."

"I dunno. You two have seemed a lot closer recently."

"Trust me, Clyde. If we went from being just friends to something else, I'd let you know."

While the boys were having this conversation, Jordan felt a tap on her shoulder and saw that it was Mollie getting her attention. "So, you and Lincoln, huh?" she said with a grin, making the ponytailed girl roll her eyes.

"Not this again, Mollie," Jordan groaned, her palm meeting her face. "I told you, we're just friends."

"I'm just saying, you two have grown closer." Her grin then dropped into a scowl. "Besides, I'd take Lincoln for this project over Flat Tire."

The Rosato girl winced, knowing that her friend still wasn't on good terms with the boy that tried to ask her out that one time. "Yeah, all I can say is, good luck with that."

After reading out the final pair of names, Mrs Johnson clapped her hands together. "Alright! Now that you're all paired up, please move around so that you're sat next to your partner, and I'll bring around the bowl so you can pick your countries."

The students all did as they had been told, getting up and moving over to sit next to their allocated project partner. After a quick talk with Clyde, Lincoln walked over to where Jordan and Mollie were sat. "Is it cool if I sit here?"

"Sure," Mollie bluntly replied, getting up and walking away, leaving Lincoln confused as he sat down.

"What was-"

"She got paired with Flat Tire," Jordan answered, knowing fully well what he was going to ask, and the wince he gave at this mirrored how she had reacted. "Yeah, I thought the same thing."

"I'm not sure if I feel more bad for Mollie or Flat Tire, given that he's probably going to say something stupid and get a slap because of it."

"Most likely." The two shared a quick chuckle at this. "So, what country do you hope we get?"

"I don't particularly mind, as long as we don't get England. My sister Luna and my dad are obsessed with anything British, particularly the English side of things, so they probably won't let me get a moment's peace."

"Isn't that normally how things are at your house?"

He couldn't help but give a more hearty laugh at that. "Touché. What about you?"

"Well, I don't have any particular preference, but there's a lot of beautiful countries in Europe, with a lot of history and culture, so I think any would be cool to work on."

Lincoln nodded, but before he could respond, their teacher approached them with the bowl. "Who's going to be picking for you two, then?"

Lincoln turned to Jordan, who turned to him at the same time, and told her, "be my guest."

"Thanks." She reached her hand into the bowl, fishing through the remaining pieces of paper, and pulled one out, opening it up. "Okay, we have… Italy!"

"Ooh, Italy! Magnifica!" the redhead commented, either not noticing or flat out ignoring the slight cringes the two kids. "Well, you have until the end of this class to begin your planning."

Giving her a nod, they waited for the teacher to walk out of earshot before turning to each other. "That was weird, right?" they both said at the same time, neither realising the other was going to do so until they did, and they couldn't help but chuckle as they realised what had happened. "So," Lincoln spoke after this, "Italy, huh? I'll be honest, other than Rome and gladiators, my knowledge on this country is… well, that's about it."

"Yeah, I know a little about Italy, like the gondoliers in Venice and the Tower of Pisa, but I don't know that much more than you," Jordan confessed. "I imagine we can find a few things in our textbooks, but I'm not sure how much."

"Well, if we figure out how we're going to present, then maybe we can figure out what to talk about. That way, we have the template, so to speak."

"That 'Man with the Plan' thinking, huh?" He gave a small chuckle, which made her give a small chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds good. Now, this sounds more like your domain, so I'm guessing that you have a few ideas already."

"Well… maybe one or two." Hearing his faux modesty and slightly smug grin that he gave at saying this, Jordan couldn't hold back the snort of a laugh, her hands cupping over her mouth as a blush came to her cheeks. "You okay there?"

She nodded, lowering her hands after she had stopped laughing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Well, don't just keep them to yourself, Mister 'Man with the Plan'. Let's hear what you've got!"

* * *

So, for the beginning of that class, Lincoln and Jordan began planning out how they would go about doing their presentation. While Lincoln didn't hold back in laying out some of his ideas, he didn't want Jordan to feel left out, so he asked her what she was thinking throughout and if there were any ideas she had, so that it would be something they both worked on. They were able to get the base idea for the presentation down pretty quickly, settling for a simple powerpoint presentation with the Italian flag being the background, but they weren't blind to the fact that they needed information to make the presentation actually have something for them to talk about.

Fortunately for them, about fifteen minutes into the class, Mrs Johnson escorted them all to the library, where they would be able to use the computers to start their research. As they sat at neighbouring computers, they decided to split their research, occasionally turning to the other when they found something interesting. While Jordan looked into the landscapes, architecture and artistic side of Italy, Lincoln looked into some of the history, food and entertainment that the country was responsible for. As time went on, they noted down more and more areas which they could talk about, and when there was five minutes before the end of class, they took their time to put everything together.

"So, we've got a lot we could talk about," Lincoln stated, looking at some of the things Jordan had written down while she looked at his findings.

"Yeah, we sure do," she agreed. "Way more than we can cover in ten minutes."

"How do we narrow that down?"

Jordan thought for a few seconds, tapping her chin until an idea came to mind. "Well, we've got two weeks to work on this. If we can figure out what to talk about in the first week, then we can use the second week to figure out what we'll actually say."

Lincoln smirked. "Smart thinking. Should we divide this up, cover more ground by ourselves?"

"Actually, I was thinking it would work better if we met outside of school. Like, two times a week, and then we could figure out if we need to do extra by ourselves. Since we'll be looking at this again on Monday, and we have practice on Tuesday and Thursday, maybe it would be best…"

"If we met on Wednesday and Friday," Lincoln finished with her, their smiles growing a little at knowing they were on the same wavelength. "Sounds like I'm not the only one who can come up with a plan."

"Yeah. I just don't brag about it." Though he gave a fake offended gasp, the two shared a laugh about it. "But, yeah. Given how big this project is, we need to figure it out properly, rather than just wing it."

"You're right, you're right. So, we have the what, the when and the… who, I guess." She raised an eyebrow at that last one, but didn't question it after he gave a shake of his head. "All that's left is where."

"Well, I know my mom wouldn't mind us working at my house on Friday's, but Wednesday is when Jen usually has some of her friends round, and they tend to get in the way when I'm trying to study. Think we can work at your house then?"

"Well-"

Before the Loud boy could say more, another voice from nearby spoke up. "Don't do it!" Rusty hissed from behind his computer. "Lincoln's sisters made it impossible for us to do a project at his house last year."

"I think he has a point," they then heard Artie say from the other side of Lincoln. "No offence, but last time I was at his house…" He gave a shudder as the memory resurfaced in his mind. "Yeah, I'd rather not go through that again."

"Really? I kind of think you're overreacting, right, Lincoln?"

When she looked to the boy, though, she saw him give her a 'so-so' shake of his hand. "I mean, they're not _that_ bad, but things at my house can get… chaotic. Though, if we're just making a presentation rather than a model, I don't think we'd go through what happened with me and Rusty. Just… don't be surprised if my sisters try and spy on us."

"That's… encouraging."

This made the Loud boy feel slightly guilty, the frown on his face thick with it. "Sorry. I'm not trying to scare you, honestly. I just don't want you to go unprepared."

She gave him a comforting smile, helping to deter his fears that he had given her the wrong message. "Don't worry, I get it. Besides, I think I'm willing to take that risk."

Lincoln threw his hands up, conceding to her. "Alright. We can do that, sure."

"Sounds great."

They then heard the bell ring, signalling the end of class. "Alright, everyone!" Mrs Johnson spoke up. "Geography is over for the day, so let's all head back to the classroom for science."

As everyone gathered their things and began to leave the library, Lincoln felt Rusty pull him back slightly by his shoulder. "How is it you're always the one able to get girls to go to your place?"

Ignoring the slight blush developing on his face, Lincoln rolled his eyes. "It's not like that, but if you want to ever get a girl to like you, maybe try not saying stuff like that."

He walked forward, paying no notice to the stunned expression on his friend's face as Jordan looked over her shoulder at him. "What was that about?"

"Just Rusty being Rusty."


	56. Ch 56- Study Buddies

Monday came to an end, and Tuesday passed by, with the only memorable bit for Lincoln being gymnastics practice. School on Wednesday was no different, merely being a regular day for the boy, but when that final bell rang, he knew what was to come. Once Mrs Johnson dismissed everyone, he gathered his things and followed the rest of his classmates into the hallway, heading to his locker where Jordan was stood, getting her things out of the one next to his. She shut the door once she was done and turned to see the white haired boy. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she greeted back. "So, you ready?"

"Almost. Just gotta get my things out of here." As he opened the locker and began gathering his belongings, "what about you? You ready?"

"Yep! Got everything I'll need right here." He turned to her and opened his mouth, but she cut him off by adding, "and yes, I'm ready for whatever your sisters have in store. Come on, you don't have to worry about me."

"If you say so. Just don't expect them to be quiet."

"What, the Louds can't be loud? I am shocked!" He shook his head at the joke, though he couldn't deny the mirth on his face. "Seriously, I'll be fine. Plus, if they get too much, you said Lynn has a dodgeball, right?"

"Name a kind of ball, she has one somewhere." He then put his bag back on his back and closed his locker. "Alright, I've got everything. Lori should be here soon with Vanzilla, so let's head outside and wait with the girls."

"Vanzilla?"

"It's better you don't ask."

Happy to leave it at that, Jordan walked with the boy through the hallway. As they headed out through the front door, they were surprised to see Mollie, Kat, Sadie and Joy were still there, and the second they saw the Rosato girl, they rushed towards her and gave her a group hug. "What the… girls, what's going on?"

"We just wanted to see you before you go," Mollie told her bestie. "Who knows what'll happen to you there?"

"Hey, they aren't _that _bad!" Lincoln defended.

"You're their brother," Joy argued. "You would say that."

He rolled his eyes, catching sight of Vanzilla while he did so. "That's them, so I guess I'll give you guys a moment."

"Not like I have much choice," Jordan quipped. "I'll catch up in a minute."

Lincoln nodded, then walked over to the van that his little sisters were currently entering. Seeing their brother, Lori poked her head out. "Hey, twerp," she told him, "is your friend coming?"

"She'll join us in a minute," Lincoln replied, ignoring the 'twerp' comment. "Once she's gotten her friends off her, that is."

"Let me guess, they're worried something's gonna happen, right?"

"Well, you guys aren't as bad as the 'horror stories', but they have a bit of a point." He then poked his head through the window, catching the attention of the others. "Girls, please behave when we get back."

"Ugh, we got it, Lincoln!" Lola muttered. "You told us this morning!"

"And on Monday!" Luan pointed out. "No pranks."

"No mud pies."

"No experiments."

"No asking about death."

"No surprise workouts."

"AND NO MEDDLING!"

Lincoln had to clear his ears from how they all yelled the last point. "Seriously, bro," Luna asked, "what's got you acting like you're caught in a trap?"

"I just don't want Jordan feeling uncomfortable while we're working on this project, alright?" he answered. "You remember what happened when me and Rusty tried to make that solar system model for science class?"

"Lincoln, you're literally being paranoid," Lori dismissed. "We promise, we'll keep out of your hairs, we won't bother you, and we'll try to keep the noise down."

"Though, don't expect any promises with that last one," Lynn added with a grin.

"I know, you're right… sorry, just don't want her getting spooked or anything."

"I know, Lincoln, and it's sweet of you to worry about her." He noticed how Lori's smile turned into a grin as she said this. "It's almost as if you-"

"Still just friends. No crushes or anything like that."

She rolled her eyes, knowing that he would say that even if it weren't true. "Sure." Turning around, she saw Jordan's friends starting to disperse from the ponytailed girl. "Looks like her friends are done."

Looking back, Lincoln saw Jordan waving goodbye to the group as she approached them. "Well, that was embarrassing," she admitted to the boy. "Still, I guess it's a good thing they care."

"Yeah, it is." He then opened the door to Vanzilla. "Hop in, I managed to save you the sweet spot."

She smiled a little more as she said "thanks", then got in and sat next to the boy, closing the van door and putting on her seatbelt. Looking up, she saw Leni in the seat in front of her. "Hey, Leni."

"Hey, Jordan!" The fashionista happily greeted back. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good, thanks. How about you?"

"Me too! Honestly, the funniest thing happened today!"

Lincoln smiled, knowing that at least one of his sisters was definitely on his side, and as he felt Vanzilla begin to drive off towards home, he found a bit of hope that things would go alright.

* * *

Traffic was light, so it took just under ten minutes for the van to park outside of their home, and once the engine was turned off, the Loud sisters wasted no time in undoing their seatbelts and getting out of the van. Though she was surprised by the vigour they showed in doing so, Jordan couldn't blame them for wanting to relax after school. She got out of the car and waited for Lincoln to get out after her, then followed the boy into the house, where he was surprised to see that there was nobody in the living room or dining room.

"How is it, the one time that no one is using the TV, I have a project to work on?" He said to himself, though Jordan heard it and gave a slight giggle as he shook his head. "No matter. Guess this gives us a choice of where we can work. Do you want to work in here, or would the dining table be better?"

She put a hand to her chin as she considered her options. "Well, the couch would be more comfortable… but, we'd probably get distracted with the TV being there, so let's work in the dining room."

"Alright. Make yourself comfortable, I'll go grab my laptop and we can get started."

"Sure." So, whilst Lincoln headed upstairs, Jordan headed into the dining room, taking a seat at the table and putting her bag on the back of the chair next to her. While she waited for the boy to return, she heard the back door open and turned to see Rita enter through it, the infant of the family in her arms. "Hi, Mrs Loud."

The mother of eleven smiled at the greeting. "Hello, Jordan," she greeted back. "I forgot you were coming round today."

"Yeah, me and Lincoln are going to get started on our geography project." She saw the baby looking at her, so she gave her a little wave. "Hi, Lily!"

The littlest Loud gave a garbled response, one that got both her mother and the elementary schooler to chuckle at how adorable it was. "Well," Rita told the girl, "if either of you need anything, Lincoln knows where my room is."

"I think we'll be okay, but thanks." The woman nodded, then left the girl just as Lincoln reappeared from upstairs, carrying a laptop and mouse which he placed on the table in front of the girl and the open chair on her left. "Nice laptop."

"Thanks," he responded as he sat down beside her, starting up the computer and connecting the mouse. "So, what do you want to start looking at first?"

"I was thinking it would be good if we looked at some of the landscapes first. I never knew Italy was so beautiful!"

"That sounds like a good idea. Plus, if we do that, we can use some of the different cities and areas as a way of organising the presentation."

"So, you're suggesting that we start talking with one city, and work our way through the country?"

"Something like that. We can figure it out more once we've done more research."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good way to do it." She saw him begin to type his password, so she respectfully looked away while he did that, pulling some of her notes out of her bag. "I was thinking of starting with Venice. It's one of those iconic destinations, with the gondoliers rowing on the canals."

"That sounds like a good way to start! I was also thinking that it would be best to finish with Rome. After all, it's the capital city, and it's where the Roman Empire was."

"Sounds like we're on the same wavelength."

He nodded before replying, "yep. We've got our start and end points, now we just need to fill the gap."

"Then let's get started."

* * *

While the two sixth graders got to work on their project, the other sisters were gathered in the bedroom of the oldest two, most waiting while the kindergartener tinkered away at something on Lori's desk. Eventually, Lola gave a frustrated groan. "Can you hurry up, Lisa?!" she shouted. "We've been waiting here forever!"

The four year old merely rolled her eyes, not looking up from her work. "We have been in this room for five hundred and twelve Gregorian seconds, which hardly classifies as forever, and if you wish for our reconnaissance to remain unnoticed, I suggest you lower your vocal produce. In other words, shut your trap and let me work."

Though she was slightly offended by the comment, the look Lori gave her made the pageant princess settle for muttering to herself with a cross of her arms. No one else said anything as the scientist continued her work, until Lori saw Luna get up. "Where are you going?"

"Sorry, bruh," she told them as she opened the door. "I've got music to write, and this just ain't worth it."

The eldest girl didn't even get a chance to reply as the rocker left the room. "Well, her loss. That just means one less person blocking the view." She got up and walked over to Lisa while she worked. "So, you're certain they won't notice?"

"Assuming that we maintain a low enough amount of noise up here, there should be a 99.82 percent chance of stealth being maintained while we complete reconnaissance, as it were."

"Lori, are you sure about this?" Leni asked, a concerned look on her face. "This feels wrong."

The high school senior rolled her eyes. "Come on, Leni. Don't tell me you aren't curious about what goes on between those two. You said it yourself, Jen told you that those two were acting close at that pool party he went to."

"Still kind of peeved he didn't invite us," Lana muttered to Lola, who gave a nod.

"Well, yeah," Leni confirmed. "She did, and I do think they'd be so cute together, but I don't want Linky to get mad at me. If he says they're just friends, we should trust him."

Lori sighed, pinching her eyes shut. "Leni, he's literally not going to get mad at us, because he's not going to find out, alright? So, if you're not going to watch, just don't tell Lincoln, alright?"

The fashionista stood up with a "hmmph," sticking her nose up. "Fine. I'll go see if Luna wants any help with her music."

"Does Leni actually know anything about music?" Lynn asked to Luan as the blonde stormed out.

"Well, her singing ability is sew sew," Luan quipped, following it up with her typical laugh. "Get it?"

The groans that everyone who heard it gave were quickly forgotten once they heard an exclamation from Lisa. "Ladies, I am done." She turned around in her chair, holding in her hand a small, spider-like drone. "I present to you, the Arachnid Optical Drone, or AOD. As you can see, the lens on the top and the discreet microphone just next to it will allow us to see and hear what is being said and done."

"Hey, genius, shouldn't the camera be on the front?"

Lisa rolled her eyes at the jock's question, quickly answering, "no, because this drone should be placed on a wall. Placing a camera this small on the front would mean it would need to be placed too close to the target to allow for discretion." She then stood from her seat and handed the drone to Lori. "You'll need to place this without them noticing. I can move it accordingly, but it would increase the chance of him noticing."

"Not a problem. I'll take care of that, and then the seven of us can-" She suddenly noticed that someone was missing. "Where did Lucy go?"

"I'm in here," they heard the goth say from the vents, making them all jump.

"Oh… well, in that case, the _six _of us can watch and see what happens."

"Ten bucks says this goes wrong," Lynn told Luan.

"You're on."

* * *

Back downstairs, Lincoln and Jordan were making steady progress with their research project. Though there was still a ways to go, they had found a good amount of information already, and were finding it to be quite interesting. "I always wondered what was different about Italian pizza."

Jordan nodded at her friend's statement. "I've never had Italian style pizza," she remarked. "I've only ever had American style."

"Same here." He was going to say something else, before he noticed something on the screen. "Has it already been a half hour?"

Hearing what he said, the girl looked at the clock on the laptop, and came to the same conclusion. "Oh, wow! I didn't even realise. Guess time just sort of flew by."

"Yeah. So, should we keep working, or take a quick break?"

"What, is this getting too much for you?" She watched as Lincoln rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, giving a soft laugh at the response. "But, yeah, I think we can take a quick break.."

"I'm gonna go grab a soda. Do you want me to grab you one?"

"You sure?" When he nodded, her smile picked up. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"I'll grab those for you," they heard a voice say, turning to see Lori had entered the dining room, neither noticing how she placed her hand on the wall behind her. "I was heading to grab one myself." She could see that Lincoln was somewhat questioning of this, but she paid it no mind, instead focusing on the girl sat next to him. "Do you want a regular soda or diet?"

"Diet, please."

"No problem." The older girl disappeared into the kitchen for about ten seconds, returning with two diet sodas and a regular soda, giving the regular to Lincoln and one of the diet sodas to Jordan. "There you go."

"Thank you," they both told her.

"You're welcome. How's your project going so far?"

"Pretty good," Lincoln explained. "We're currently just gathering facts, so we can figure out what to talk about."

"We've found a lot we can talk about already," Jordan acknowledged, "but it doesn't hurt to keep looking. It's easier if we have too much to talk about rather than not enough."

"That's true. Well, I'll leave you to it, but if you decide you need any help, I'll be in my room."

"Okay." They waited for her to leave before turning to each other. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that one of them came to check on us."

"Well, that just shows she cares about you."

"I guess, though knowing my sisters, it could just as easily be a way to spy on us."

Once more, Jordan was brought to giggles by the statement. "You don't mean that."

"Eh… I guess not." He grabbed his soda and opened it, just as Jordan did the same with hers. "Well, here's to a successful project so far."

"Odd thing to toast to, but sure." They raised their cans and clinked them together, before taking drinks from their respective sodas. They both sighed after taking their first sips, the couple of seconds of silence that followed being broken by a hiccup, one that left the Rosato girl red faced as her hand covered her mouth. "Excuse me."

Lincoln couldn't help but give a soft chuckle. "It's fine, really." As he prepared to take another drink, he heard a ringing sound, and they both looked to the laptop, which was now displaying an incoming call notification. "That's odd."

"Were you expecting a call from…" She looked at the caller ID, and her eyes widened slightly. "Ronnie Anne? Oh, that's right, you told me you two used to hang out."

"Yeah, we still video call from time to time, though usually on the weekend." He turned to the girl sat next to him. "Should I ask her to call back later?"

"No, don't be silly. You can take the call, I don't mind. I'll just scooch away slightly."

"You sure?" When she nodded and shuffled her chair away, he nodded back, before facing the screen and accepting the call, the face of his friend from Great Lakes City appearing before him. "Hey, Ronnie Anne."

"Hey, Lame-O," she greeted through the speakers. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, I'm just taking a break from work on a school project."

"I can tell, you've got your books out, the soda's out… though, I doubt you'd be drinking two at once. There someone else with you?"

"Yeah. I'm doing this project with Jordan." He then turned to the girl waiting patiently next to him. "You wanna say hi?"

"Uh… sure?" She shuffled her chair back towards Lincoln, until she was also in Ronnie Anne's view. "Hey, Santiago."

"Hey, Rosato," the Latina said with a wave. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time. How's the city treating you?"

"Pretty good. Think I'm getting in the swing of things here. How's things with you?"

"Pretty good."

"Cool. So, Lame-O, sorry for the sudden call. I'm gonna be busy this weekend, so I figured I'd call now instead. I can call back later if you're busy."

Jordan shook her head before Lincoln can answer. "No, I kind of insisted he should take the call. Besides, it's like Lincoln said, we were just taking a break."

"Well, if you're sure. By the way, you might wanna look behind you."

Though they were confused, they did just that, and they saw the spy drone on the wall. While Jordan was surprised by it, Lincoln was instead angry, especially when he heard the quick and heavy footsteps coming from upstairs. "I should have known," he said through gritted teeth, shaking his head as he got up and grabbed the drone off the wall before it could scatter away. "Yep, this is Lisa's, though I'm pretty certain that it wasn't her idea."

"It's cool, Linc," Ronnie Anne assured him. "You go deal with them."

He knew she was right, but he also knew that he had someone else to take into consideration. He gave a sympathetic look to Jordan as he told her, "I'm so sorry about this."

"Lincoln, it's fine, really. I'll be fine."

"I'll be right back."

Once the boy had begun to make his way upstairs, Jordan turned back to the girl still on his screen. "Good thing you saw that. Did his sisters ever do that whenever you and Lincoln hung out?"

"They never used a drone, though there were a couple of times we hung out at the park or the arcade or somewhere that we caught one or more of them following us." Seeing the other girl's eyes widen made her chuckle. "Yeah, you get used to it."

"I hope I don't have to." The two both laughed a little, before something came to Jordan's mind. "So, um… can I ask you something?"

Ronnie Anne simply smirked. "You wanna know what the deal was between me and Lincoln, right?"

"Yeah. I mean… you did have your 'reputation' before," she accentuated the point by using her fingers to do air quotes, "and it always seemed like you hated him."

"I never hated the guy. Sure, there were a couple of times we made each other mad, but it was never hate. As for that 'reputation'… well, things were different back then. Linc was… probably the first kid at school to actually be friendly to me. Before we started hanging out, I was a mean girl, because it's what I felt like I had to be, I guess. It's an excuse, yeah, but it's all I've got, and thankfully things are different now. Guess you could say, I owe him for that."

The brown haired girl frowned. "I had no idea… honestly, I never had any issues with you, but…"

"I get it. You had your friends."

Jordan nodded. "Still, I was wrong. From what Lincoln's told me about you and from what I can tell right now, you actually seem pretty cool."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Though she rolled her eyes, Jordan did smile at hearing this. "What about you? What's the deal with you and Lame-O? Is it just friends, or is it what his sisters probably think it is."

"No, we're just friends. We've been hanging out more ever since he started coming to… dodgeball practice."

"Yeah, he told me about that a while back, though I was pretty sure he was lying about that." She leaned slightly closer to her camera. "So, is it actually dodgeball, or is it something else?" She waited and watched as Jordan opened her mouth to speak, hesitating and looking slightly uncertain, even looking over her shoulder, and it told Ronnie Anne everything. "I get it. If he asked you to keep it a secret, then I won't make you tell me. I can appreciate you trying to keep that for him."

A sigh of relief came from the other girl as she faced the screen again. "Thanks."

"Besides, I know how to get Lame-O to talk."

"Hey," they heard Lincoln say as he returned. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, Lincoln," Jordan assured. "We were just talking."

"What about?"

"Nothing you need to know, Lame-O."

He rolled his eyes at his friend's comment. "Whatever."

The three talked for another ten minutes or so before Ronnie Anne got called away, leaving the Loud boy and Rosato girl to continue with their project. Once five o'clock hit, they heard a car horn coming from outside, signalling that their time was up. "Well, guess I should be going," Jordan told her friend as she packed up her stuff.

"Yeah, shouldn't keep your mom waiting," he agreed. "Still, we got a lot done so far."

"We sure did. We probably won't get finished on Friday, but at least we have an idea of what to do next."

He nodded, before they both stood from their seats. They walked to the front door, the boy holding it open before they went outside and up to the silver car. "Hi, Mrs Rosato."

"Lincoln, I told you, you can call me Sarah," she joked, before looking at her daughter. "How's your project going, sweetie?"

"Pretty good," she answered, opening the car door and throwing her bag in before looking at the boy. "So, guess I'll see you on Friday, then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you at school. Enjoy Thanksgiving."

"You too, Lincoln."

After a couple more goodbyes, Lincoln watched and waved as Jordan got in the car and was driven away, before heading into the house where Lynn was waiting for him. "So, you up for a workout, bro?"

"I guess."

"Ah, come in, you're not still mad at me, are you? I only watched because I was bored."

He rolled his eyes, telling the girl "whatever you say, Lynn," before following her into the kitchen.


	57. Ch 57- Thanksgiving pt 1

**(A/N: hey, everyone! Hope everyone's doing alright with the current circumstances. I know things are… to say the least, different right now, so I'm hoping that this story can at least bring a little bit of happiness to your day. Now, I know some of you are going to say once you've read this, 'Fiction, why are you doing a Thanksgiving chapter in April?' Well, originally, this chapter would've hopefully been up either before Thanksgiving or shortly after it, but after having taken a couple of breaks and starting another story alongside this one, that has obviously not been the case. Still, this chapter kind of had to happen at Thanksgiving for the sake of the timeline, so I hope that no one minds me doing that.**

**That's all I have to say for now, so thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

The next morning had come, and after breakfast had passed, most of the Louds had gathered on the couch to watch some tv, none of them on their way to school since all schools were shut for Thanksgiving. The only ones not in the living room were the two parents, with Lynn beginning to cook in the kitchen whilst Rita looked after Lily in the baby's room, and Lori was still in her room.

"It's gonna be pretty weird not having Lori here for Thanksgiving," Lynn acknowledged.

"Yeah, but you remember the deal with the Casagrande's," Lana replied. "This year, they get Thanksgiving and we get Christmas."

"Yeah, you're right. Still, pretty weird."

"Given our eldest sibling's future plans of seeking further education, it will be likely that… that this will be the first of many occasions in which she won't be here," Lisa explained, her tone dropping as it sank in.

Lincoln noticed how his sisters all began to frown as they too let that idea sink in. "Come on, girls," he said, warmth in his voice. "It won't be like we won't see her at all. If anything, when she does go to college, it'll just make the moments we do see her more special."

Luna smiled, ruffling her brother's hair. "Always look on the bright side of life, huh, bro?" she mused.

"Someone has to."

They all turned their heads towards the staircase when they heard footsteps, seeing Lori come down, dressed in her usual winter outfit with a bag on her arm. "Okay, I'm heading out!" she announced, turning to her siblings. "Leni, Luna, are you sure you can watch the others?"

"No problem, Lori," Leni answered. "We've, like, totes got this."

"Yeah, dude," Luna added. "Easy like a Sunday morning."

The high school senior. "Thanks, girls. I'll be back by about ten, so I'll see you all then."

Her sisters all said their goodbyes as she headed to the front door, and when she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised at the sight of two elderly people- one a woman with red lips, a mole on her lower cheek and a brown bee hive hairdo, wearing a pink coat with white fur, brown trousers and white shoes, and a burly man with white hair and a grey moustache, wearing a light cream button shirt with orange suspenders, blue jeans with a black belt and white sneakers. A white camper van was parked behind them.

"There's my soon-to-be college girl!" The man greeted, quickly pulling Lori into a hug that she happily reciprocated.

"Hey, Pop-Pop!" Lori greeted, catching the attention of her siblings.

"POP-POP! GRAN-GRAN!"

The girls all practically leapt off the couch to hug their grandfather and his girlfriend, while Lincoln simply smiled and allowed the girls to greet them first.

"Oh, look at you all!" Myrtle cooked as she hugged the girls. "You're all getting so big!"

"That's because the Loud family has always had strong women." The senior looked up at the white haired child and his smile grew. "I thought there was one less grandkid hugging me. Get over here, Mini Meq!"

Lincoln didn't hesitate in walking over and hugging his grandfather after Leni made some space for him to do so. "Hey, Pop Pop."

"I swear, you look more like me every time I see you. Won't be long before that moustache kicks in." Both grandfather and grandson laughed at the joke, before he noticed something else. "Come to think of it, you do look a bit bigger… have you been working out?"

"Eh heh… uh, just a bit."

"You can thank yours truly for that," Lynn boasted, to which Lori rolled her eyes.

"More like you can thank Jordan," she argued. "She got Lincoln to take up dodgeball practice outside of school."

"Really! I didn't even know there was a dodgeball practice in Royal Woods."

"I, uh, didn't either," Lincoln 'confessed'. "Like Lori said, my friend told me about it, and it turns out I really like it."

"Well, if it's something you enjoy doing, then I'm proud of you, kiddo!"

"Thanks, Pop Pop."

"I hate to cut this short, but I need to get going," Lori spoke up.

"You're leaving?" Myrtle asked, some sadness in her voice.

"I'd love to stay, but I agreed to spend Thanksgiving in Great Lakes City with Bobby and his family."

"Well, it's a shame you won't be here, but I understand, sweetie. We'll be here late, so we'll see you when you get back, alright?"

"Okay, Gram Gram." She gave the two elderly people one last hug, before making her way through and heading towards Vanzilla. "See you later!"

The Louds and Myrtle all waved her off as she got in the van and drove away. When they went back inside, they saw the two Loud parents come out from the kitchen, Lynn wearing his white chef's apron while Rita was holding Lily in her arms. "I thought I heard you out here," the matriarch proclaimed as her grandfather and his girlfriend came to hug her and her husband.

"Hello, Rita!" Myrtle greeted. "You are looking absolutely beautiful, dear!" She then looked down at the infant giving her a wave. "And you are still as cute as button!" She gave a small pinch at Lily's cheek, making the infant giggle.

"How's the restaurant doing, Lynn?" Albert asked the patriarch.

"It's doing good, Albert," he replied. "Business has never been better."

"Well, I'm guessing that dinner will be absolutely lovely!" Myrtle told the brown haired man. "Of course, I'm sure you save some recipes for yourself."

Lynn chuckled. "I do have a few I save for my family."

"Hey, Pop Pop!" Lynn Jr spoke up. "Wanna throw the pigskin around for a bit?"

"Maybe later, All Star," the old man answered. "Right now, Myrtle and I had something else in mind."

"We were thinking," the elderly woman said to the two younger adults, "that while you two start working on dinner, we could take the kids to go see the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade!"

"Yeah, we figured it would give you some time alone in the house, and it would give us a chance to spend some time with the kids. We'll even grab lunch while we're out."

"Are you sure?" Rita asked. "You know how much of a handful they can be."

Her father simply chuckled. "Rita, they're kids, they're always gonna be a handful. I may be getting old, but I can still handle these ten."

"Me and Leni will help out," Luna spoke up, the blonde girl next to her nodding. "It'll be fine."

Before the mother of eleven could argue, she felt two pairs of hands wrap around her legs, making her look down to see the twins looking up with begging eyes. "Can we, mom? Please?"

"Oh… alright." The twins rejoiced at their mother's acceptance. "But, I want all of you to listen to Pop Pop and Gram Gram. If I hear any of you got into trouble, you won't get dessert at dinner."

"Yes, mom," the nine kids all replied.

"Wonderful!" Gram Gram spoke up, clapping her hands together. "Well, if we leave now, we can hopefully get a good spot to watch the parade! Everyone, grab your coats, alright?"

They all nodded, before rushing upstairs to grab their coats, leaving the four adults downstairs. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" Rita asked, handing Lily over to Myrtle.

"Dear, everything will be fine," the older woman replied. "They're gonna have fun, and that's what matters."

"Well, call me if anything happens."

"We will." Albert then looked up the staircase as the kids all started to come downstairs, now wearing their winter coats and some wearing their hats and gloves as well. "Alright, everyone got everything?" After seeing the nine heads nod, his smile grew. "Then, let's go!"

The two parents watched as the kids went with their grandfather, saying goodbye to their parents as they left the house. Once the door was shut, they looked at each other. "Looks like the house is ours."

"It sure is," Lynn replied. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Country music?"

"You know it!"

* * *

The van ride from Royal Woods to Detroit hadn't taken them long, with only mild traffic, and the two elderly people in the front two seats were happy to talk with their grandkids and learn what was new with them to pass the time. When they eventually got into Detroit, those that were next to the windows looked out at the city, having not actually been to the city before. "I can't see the parade," Lana complained, to which Pop Pop chuckled.

"Don't worry, Lana," he assured her. "The parade started a while ago, but it's going through the whole city, so we've got time to find somewhere that we'll be able to see from before the parade gets to us."

"Are we gonna find somewhere that the TV crew will be filming?" Lola then asked.

"No, I doubt we'd be able to," Myrtle answered. There's gonna be lots of people trying to gather there, so it'll be way too busy, and I don't want any of you to get lost." Though the pageant princess was mildly upset at this, she understood the reasoning, so she didn't say anything as the van pulled into the parking area behind the library. "Okay, kids! We're here! Little ones, make sure you're holding onto someone's hands. Everyone from Lincoln up, make sure you're watching out for the little ones. Understood?"

Once everyone had agreed, they got out of the van, with Albert locking the door. Leni took Lana and Lola's hands, Lynn took hold of Lisa's (the scientist begrudgingly allowing her to), and Luan took Lucy's, before they followed the two elders around the library and through the city. They walked a couple of blocks before they found the barricades, the sidewalks fairly crowded in anticipation of the upcoming parade- mostly families with children, but also gatherings of friends. They made their way to a big enough space by the barricade, the twins practically climbing up the barricades to see over them.

"When's the parade gonna get here?" Lana asked.

"Well, we got here a little early," Pop Pop admitted. "Still, the website gave an idea of when the parade would pass by here, so assuming everything runs smoothly, it shouldn't be much more than five minutes."

"Okay. Can I sit on your shoulders when it comes?"

"Hey! I was gonna ask him if I could do that!" Lola yelled.

"Well, I asked him first!"

Lincoln knew what the twins were like, so he quickly intervened. "Don't worry, Lola. You can sit on my shoulders if you like."

Just like that, the anger faded from the pageant princess' face. "Thanks, Linky."

"Always the problem solver, huh, bro?" Luna joked, her brother giving a chuckle in response.

"What can I say? I don't like seeing you guys fight."

"We know. That's why we love you, bro." She saw the slight blush appear on his face and was going to say something about it, but something else caught her eye. "Hey, Linc? Ain't that your friend over there?"

He raised an eyebrow, following his sister's gaze to see who she meant. Though he had to squint as he looked through the crowd of people, he was able to spot a familiar blue bow and braided ponytail. "I think you're right." He then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "HEY, JORDAN! OVER HERE!"

He waited for the girl to see him, holding his hand up and waving it in the air, and he eventually saw her waving back. It took a few seconds before he saw her approach him through the crowd, the girl wearing a white cardigan over an ocean blue tunic shirt, black leggings with black pumps and her blue scarf that he had gotten used to seeing her with. Stood next to her was Jen, who was wearing a light blue sweater on top of her usual attire.

"Hey, Lincoln!" Jordan greeted first. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Same here," he replied.

"Mom wanted us away from the kitchen for a while," Jen explained. "Last year, we tried to help with some of the cooking for dinner."

Jordan chuckled sheepishly at the memory. "Yeah, it… didn't go well."

Lincoln gave a gentle chuckle as well. "I get it. The last few times me and my sisters were cooking… well, I think calling it a disaster would be fair as well."

"Hey, Mini Me!" they heard Pop Pop speak up, turning to see the big smile on his face. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"Uh huh. Pop Pop, this is Jordan. Jordan, this is Pop Pop."

"Hey, aren't you that old guy I saw breakdancing?"

Jen gave her a light slap on the shoulder. "JORDAN!"

The younger Rosato cupped her mouth, not having thought about what she was saying, but before she could apologise, Pop Pop gave a hearty laugh. "Don't worry, when you get to my age, it's like a badge of honour," he assured Jen, whose face relaxed a bit at hearing this, before he turned to Jordan again. "Yeah, I've still got a few tricks I can pull, even for an 'old' guy." He gave another laugh, this one being shared by the two sixth graders. "So, you're Jordan, huh? I hear you got my grandson to take up dodgeball outside of school."

"Oh, uh, yeah."

Lincoln felt a little bit guilty, knowing that he was lying to his grandfather, but he quickly helped his friend out. "I'd been trying to find a sport I could get into, and when nothing else worked out, I bumped into Jordan. She told me about dodgeball, and after I gave it a go, I've been doing it since."

"Well, if that's the case, then, Jordan, guess I ought to thank you. If you helped my grandson find something like that he enjoys, then you must be a pretty good friend of his."

"Well…" Jordan's smile fell a bit. "I wouldn't say that we were that close before…"

"But," Lincoln added, "we've definitely become better friends since. Right?"

She looked him in the eyes, and her smile returned. "Right." She looked back at the man. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Ooh! Look!" They heard Leni call out. "Here comes the parade!"

The kids and two elders all looked in the direction Leni was pointing and saw indeed that the parade of floats and balloons heading their way. The two twins were quick to get on the shoulders of the two male Louds so they could see, smiling in awe of the floats and balloons heading down the street, waving to the attendants that waved to the crowd.

"Look at the Blarney balloon!" Lana called out, seeing the iconic green dinosaur balloon. "It's huge!"

"That's gotta take forever to fill out!" Lola reasoned, to which Lisa scoffed.

"Forever is a gross overstatement," the scientist denied. "Based on its size and the 90 people holding onto the ropes, that balloon would hold approximately 12,000 cubic feet of helium, which is capable of lifting 750 pounds. That would take about an hour and a half to completely fill."

Leni looked down at the scientist. "Don't you want to see the parade better?"

"My view of the festivities is fine as it is."

"Ugh, don't be such a downer, Lisa!" Lola said with a roll of her eyes, her twin nodding.

"Yeah, come on, it's fun!"

Once again, the four year old scoffed. "I fail to see how mobilised stages and inflated latex figures of popular culture characters, advertisement and other assorted characters can be considered 'fun'."

"It's more than just that, Lisa," Albert argued. "It's about showing how the United States have diversified and strengthened since the days of the colonies. Society and culture have come a long way since our country was born."

"I suppose…" Before she could properly prepare a counter argument, she felt Luan put her hands under her armpits and lift her up, so that the scientist was sat on the comedienne's shoulders. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Since you're so 'highly above' all this," Luan told her, "I thought you'd like a higher view!"

The second youngest Loud simply crossed her arms and muttered to herself as Luan laughed at her joke, the two sixth graders also giving a small laugh at the situation. "Guess Lisa's not the 'outdoors celebration' kind of girl, huh?"

Lincoln shook his head at her statement. "No, she's definitely more the 'indoors acknowledgement' kind of person." Jordan couldn't help but giggle at his choice of words. "Still, at least everyone's getting along."

"Yeah, and it's not every day you get to see a parade." She looked a little further down and gasped. "Hey, look at that next float!"

Lincoln looked where she was pointing and gasped as well. Heading their way was a red and black float with the Ace Savvy logo on the sides. A large parade balloon of the titular hero was flying above it, and stood on top of the float were a number of people dressed as characters from the comics, with villains such as Card Shark, Crazy Dice and Snake Eyes acting evil and maniacal, and heroes such as Ace Savvy, One Eyed Jack and even the Full House Gang waving to the crowd. "No way! That's awesome! I knew that the Full House Gang had gotten popular online, but I didn't think they would get this popular!"

"Well, duh!" Lola said from above him. "After all, you had me to base the Queen of Diamonds on."

"Ahem."

"Oh, and the others too, I guess."

Lincoln rolled his eyes, giving a happy chuckle as he returned to watching the parade with his family and his friends. They were there for close to an hour, watching as the different floats, balloons, acrobats, clowns, marching bands and other assorted people and attractions passed by. They saluted the troops that passed by, under Pop Pop's assistance, watched in awe at some of the tricks the street performers did, and all in all had a good time until the last float passed by, the crowd beginning to disperse.

"Well, wasn't that fun, kids?" Myrtle spoke to the kids, getting a positive reaction from most of them, while Lisa chose to simply stay silent. "I'm glad you had fun! Now, who's hungry?"

Once again, the Louds reacted positively, whilst Lincoln turned to Jordan. "I'm guessing you'll be heading back home, then?"

"Yeah, probably," she replied. "Still, it was nice hanging out with you."

"She's right," Jen agreed. "It was cool to see you again, Lincoln."

"Thanks. You too, Jen."

"Hey, Lincoln!" They heard Pop Pop call to the boy. "Why don't you invite your friends to come join us?"

"No, no, that's okay, sir," Jen answered first. "We were gonna pick something up on the way back home."

"Don't be silly, I don't mind. It's not often I get to meet one of my grandkids' friends. Come on, my treat."

"Yeah, come on, Jen!" Leni added, her happy smile on her face. "It'll be fun!"

The older Rosato turned to her younger sister. "What do you think?"

Jordan nodded to her, then faced the old man. "We'd love to!"

"Wonderful!" Myrtle cheered. "Let's go!"

Once they began moving, Lincoln turned to Jordan with an amused grin, making her tilt her head at him. "What?"

"Other than Clyde, you're the first person that's actively wanted to be around my sisters after their first encounter," he explained, prompting her to playfully push him on the shoulder.

"Come on, they're not that bad. Besides, I'm probably gonna end up talking to you the whole time."

"Not to mention, free food," Jen added, getting the two younger kids to laugh.

"Yeah, that's true." As they walked along, Lincoln looked and noticed something about his friend. "Hey… is that the outfit you wore for the fashion show?"

"Yeah, it is," she confirmed. "I kind of felt like wearing something different, since my Aunt and Uncle are visiting for dinner, and I don't see them often."

"Well, like I said back then, it looks good on you."

Her cheeks turned pink. "Thanks. You look good, too. Although, you do remind me of Chucky Green."

"Why does everyone say that?!"

As the kids walked and talked, neither of them noticed Jen behind them, takin a couple of pictures with her phone. 'So cute…'


	58. Ch 58- Thanksgiving pt 2

After enjoying a friendly lunch with the Rosato girls, the Louds eventually returned home. There was still plenty of time before dinner would be ready, so they took the time to relax. Whilst Rita and Lynn Sr continued with the cooking, Myrtle helped the twins and Lily with making turkey and maple leaf decorations to stick on the window. Lucy went into her room to work on some poetry, Lisa decided to do some reading in her room, and Leni and Luan decided to hang out for a while in Leni's room. Pop Pop, meanwhile, decided to watch the football game with Lynn Jr., and having nothing else to do, Luna and Lincoln decided to sit down and watch with them, even if they weren't as into it as the senior or the jock.

As the final seconds of the match played down, with Detroit losing by four, Lynn and Pop Pop were on the edge of their seats. They watched as the ball was picked by one of their players, who began to run down the field. "Go! Go! Go!" Lynn began chanting, with Albert doing the same alongside her, neither noticing the befuddled look on the white haired bot's face.

"Am I missing something?" He whispered to the rocker, who gave a chuckle.

"Same thing I'm missing, bruh," Luna replied. "Just let them enjoy this, Linc. Clock's reached the final countdown."

Her words rang true, when they heard what the commentator on TV said. "HE COULD! GO! ALL! THE WAY!" The player that picked the ball before dove as one of the defending players tried to tackle them, slamming the ball into the ground beyond the touchdown line. "TOUCHDOWN! DETROIT WINS BY TWO!"

"WOO!" Lynn cheered as she and her grandfather leapt from the couch, the girl jumping up to hug him as they pumped their fists in the air. "WHAT A COMEBACK!"

"You said it, LJ!" Pop Pop agreed. "What a game!"

"Yeah!" The old man eventually let her down, and she turned to see the somewhat indifferent looks on her brother and sister's faces. "How are you not more excited about this?"

"Hey, you're the one who watches every game," Lincoln pointed out. "I'm not into football that much."

"Yeah, and I'm more of a soccer girl," Luna added. "It's nice to see the home team win, but I ain't gonna go gaga over it."

The younger brunette simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She turned to the old man. "So, can we throw the football around now?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," he told her, then looked to the other two. "You two wanna join us?"

"I'm cool," Luna spoke first as she got up from the couch. "I'm gonna go practice some tunes until dinner time."

"Alright, sweetheart." As the rocker walked away, he looked to the middle child. "What about you, Mini Me? Can you throw a football like you throw a dodgeball?" He gave a chuckle to himself, but stopped when he saw the frown that appeared on Lincoln's face. "You alright there, kiddo?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine, Pop Pop. I think I'm just gonna read some comics or something for a bit."

"Oh, alright then." He watched as the boy made his way upstairs, before turning to his sister. "Was it something I said?"

"Nah, it's not that," she assured. "He'll be fine, just give him some time."

"Yeah… you're probably right." He made a note to talk to the boy later, before he smiled and told her, "now, come on. Where's your ball at, LJ?"

"Right out back." The two then made their way out the front door and around the side of the house to the back garden, where amongst the toys left there, the football was resting against the fence. Lynn ran ahead to grab it whilst Pop Pop followed closely behind, stopping a short distance from her. She picked up the ball and turned to face the old man. "Alright, you ready?"

"Let's see what you've got, kiddo!" He yelled back, seeing the smirk appear on the young teen's face as she arched her arm back, then sent the ball soaring towards him. He reached his hands out and grabbed the ball, feeling the force behind it. "Woah! I swear, you get stronger every time I see you!"

"Gotta show the other team who's number one, ain't I?"

"Attagirl!" He tossed the ball back to the girl, who received it with ease, starting a session of back and forth between the grandfather and his fifth eldest granddaughter. "So, you taken up any new sports lately?"

"Not especially. Still just basketball, football, soccer, ice hockey, roller derby, baseball and lacrosse, with workout sessions on the side."

He gave a chuckle. "Yeah, you probably wouldn't have time to anything else if you took up another sport."

"Exactly, and as much as I'd love to, Mom probably wouldn't let me because of schoolwork. But, yeah, I don't mind. Actually, now that I think of it, I guess I've started doing yoga."

This surprised the senior. "Yoga, huh? When did you start doing that?"

"Few weeks back. I didn't really want to do it, but Lincoln needed someone to help him with his workouts. It's not bad, I'll admit."

"It's nice to hear you're helping your brother with this. I was a little surprised that it wasn't you who helped him find dodgeball."

"Well, after football and athletics, he wanted to try find something for himself, and some of them didn't pan out, but then Jordan recommended he try dodgeball, and, well, the rest is history I guess."

"I see… I almost forgot he did football. Guess that's why he didn't want to join us."

Lynn was going to throw the ball back, but she saw the frown that appeared on Pop Pop's face, and if there was one thing no one could deny, seeing your grandparent upset is one of the most heartbreaking sights. "Hey, it's not your fault. Linc's not gonna think you meant anything by it."

He sensed her concern, and recovered his smile. "Don't worry about me, LJ," he assured her. "I know that, and I know Linc's happy that he found dodgeball. That's what matters. Just one of those things you worry about when you have grandkids." He took a deep breath, before his smile turned into a smirk. "We've still got time before dinner, kiddo. Give me your best shot!"

* * *

They played for about fifteen minutes more before Rita called them in for dinner. They went inside, making sure to wash their hands before joining the rest of the family at the dining table. Albert sat near the head of the table, with Myrtle between him and Lily's highchair, while the rest of the sisters and Lincoln sat around the table as well. They chatted amongst each other as they waited for dinner to be served, with some of them evidently being more patient than others. "How much longer?" Lana whined. "I can smell it from here."

"Patience, Lana," Myrtle replied firmly. "All good things come to those who wait, and I imagine dinner will be ready any second."

"I hope so," Lynn then spoke. "Gotta eat well on Thanksgiving."

The others all voiced their agreement, just as they noticed Rita come into the room, bringing a plate with food in each hand, setting them down on the table. "Alright, everyone!" She announced. "Turkey's nearly ready! I don't want anyone complaining over vegetables, you'll all get the same amount, and if you don't eat them, you don't get dessert."

"Yes, mom," the nine kids that were able to replied, making her smile.

"Very good."

She went back into the kitchen and returned with another pair of plates and took her seat, before Lynn Sr came in with a covered tray, placing it in the middle of the table and gaining everyone's attention. "Okay, fam! Who's ready… for turkey?" He lifted the lid and revealed a sizeable turkey, cooked golden and steaming, making everyone's mouths water at the sight of it. "Albert, would you care to do the honours?"

"Don't mind if I do!" The old man got up from his seat and took the carving knife from next to the turkey, using it to cut a slice from the bird, revealing the excellency behind its cooking. "Lynn, you've outdone yourself! It looks delicious!"

"Thanks, but I always say, the proof is in the taste! In other words, let's eat!"

"YEAH!"

So, once everyone was given some turkey and veg to eat, they all began to dine on the meal, which was as delicious as it looked. The turkey was succulent and tender, the potatoes were crispy skinned yet fluffy on the inside, the gravy was perfectly hot and tasty whilst the cranberry sauce was nice and sweet, and no one could complain about the vegetables when they too were delicious. Everyone was able to get seconds and no one could resist the dinner just too perfect. By the time their forks hit the plates, everyone was stuffed, leaning back in their chairs as a food coma threatened to take over them.

"That was-" Lynn Jr lifted a hand to her mouth, holding back the burp rising up. "That was awesome."

"I haven't had a Thanksgiving dinner that nice," Myrtle mused, "since I was a little girl."

"So, I guess no one wants dessert then?" Lynn Sr asked, to which he saw some of the kids try and sit up before falling back into their seats again, making him chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll let you guys recover before dessert."

"Thanks, Pop Star," Luna told the man, then looked over to her brother, seeing him doing his best to keep his eyes open. "You hangin' by a thread, bro?"

"Just… about," he groggily replied, putting his hands on the table to prop himself up. "Man… I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

"I know what you mean, Mini Me," Albert laughed, patting his gut. "There ain't no trick, you've just gotta fight through it."

"Well, while we let the main course digest a bit," Myrtle suggested, "why don't we all say what we're thankful for?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Rita agreed. "Would you like to go first?"

"Of course. I'm thankful for this wonderful man, right here." She wrapped her arm around Pop Pop, who returned the gesture and pulled her close. "He's made me so happy, and without him, I wouldn't have met any of you."

The rest of the Louds cooed at the response, while Albert simply smiled. "I love you, Myrtle," he told her, which got her to blush while he turned to the others. "Now that I'm at my age, there's two things that I get more and more thankful for with each year: my health, and my family."

"You're absolutely right, Albert," Lynn Sr, agreed. "As thankful as I am that the restaurant is doing well, I couldn't be more thankful than I am that my wife and my kids are happy and healthy."

Rita nodded. "I feel the same way, honey." She turned to the kids. "What about you, kids? Who wants to go first?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Leni chirped, raising her hand. "I will!" She put her hand down when her parents nodded. "I'm thankful for my job at Reininger's, and for my friends at school, and for all of you guys."

"That's sweet, dudette," Luna commented, before deciding to speak next. "I'm thankful for Sam, the greatest gal I could ever ask for, and for the most rockin' fam in the USA."

This got a bit of a cheer from the others at the table, before Luan spoke up. "Looks like we're going in order of age," she remarked. "Normally, I'd make a joke about getting older, but I'm gonna have to put that on h-old." She gave her signature laugh, which once again got groans from most of her family, the exceptions being Lynn Sr and Albert. "All kidding aside, I'm thankful that you guys always come and support me at my comedy gigs and my theatre shows. I might not have gotten this far without you guys."

"Don't forget Benny, sis."

The comedienne blushed from her roommate's comment. "Oh, you don't have to worry there. I'll always be thankful for Benny."

Lynn rolled her eyes at the sappy comment, before speaking up. "I'd talk about my sports again, but that's a given. This year, I'm thankful that me and my bro have been able to spend some more time together. He's always been helping me out with practicing and sparring, and now I get to help him out."

This brought a smile to the boy's face. "I'm thankful for that too, Lynn."

"I bet you're also thankful for Jordan, aren't you, Linky?"

He rolled his eyes at the tone Lola used when she said that. "Haven't I already made it clear that she's just a friend?"

"Even so," Luna argued, "if it weren't for her, you wouldn't be having the time of your life at dodgeball every week."

"I… actually, that's true." He gave a fond smile as he truly considered that. "I know I was originally a bit hesitant about exercising. I didn't really find it appealing at first, but I guess all it took was the right activity. I really am thankful that Jordan showed it to me, and… that she's been such a good friend to me."

"And we're all happy about that too, sport," his father recognised. "I know things didn't work out at first, but we're glad you were able to find something you enjoyed."

"Thanks, dad."

As the younger kids began to say what they were thankful for, Albert couldn't help but smile at his sole grandson. 'Attaboy, Lincoln.'

The rest of the day was enjoyable for the whole family— after dessert, they spent the next few hours together in the living room, playing games, watching TV a and telling stories, and once Lori got back, they all enjoyed some tamales that she had been given by Rosa. By half ten, however, the two Loud parents insisted on it being time for bed, so the kids begrudgingly said goodnight to Pop Pop and Myrtle, heading upstairs and getting ready for bed.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had initially gone to sleep, Lincoln found that he was thirsty, so he got out of bed, slipped his slippers on his feet and quietly made his way downstairs, careful not to wake his sisters. Once he had made his way down the staircase, he turned into the dining room, where he was able to see that Pop Pop was up as well, making himself something to drink. As Lincoln entered the kitchen, the elder saw him and gave a smile. "Hey there, Mini Me," he greeted in a quiet voice. "What're you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," he answered. "Needed something to drink."

"Well, I've just put on some tea. An old recipe your grandma taught me when your mom was a little girl. It always helped when I couldn't sleep. You want some?"

"Sure."

"Well, while we wait, guess we can talk about a couple of things."

"Like what?"

The old man sighed. "Well, for starters, sorry about earlier, kiddo. Should've know when I asked if you wanted to join your sister and I with tossing the football around that… well, it would bring up bad memories."

Lincoln frowned, though it wasn't from memories of the football game. "Come on, Pop Pop. You didn't mean anything by it, you just wanted me to join you and have fun. No hard feelings."

"Glad to hear it, kiddo… so, you gonna tell me what you've really been doing?"

Lincoln blinked, his eyes going wide as the question caught him off guard, but he quickly tried to recover. "What do you mean, Pop Pop?"

The old man simply smirked at him. "Nice try, kiddo, but it'll take more than that to fool this old geezer. Plus, I talked with Lynn earlier about how she helped you train, and those aren't the exercises you wanna do for dodgeball."

Lincoln gave a sheepish frown. "That obvious?"

"Not really, but your grandpa knows you well. I don't think Myrtle noticed."

"That's where you're wrong, Albert," they heard the woman in question say as she entered the kitchen.

"Did we wake you?" Lincoln asked, to which she shook her head.

"You didn't, sweetheart, but this old geezer did. He thinks he's some kind of ninja, but he's as loud as a drunk monkey." This got a small chuckle from the boy, before he realised what she said before that. "So, Lincoln, what have you been doing instead of dodgeball?"

"Well… promise you won't be mad?"

"Oh, sweetie, we aren't going to be mad. We're a little disappointed, sure, but definitely not mad."

"Sorry… I didn't mean any harm by it, and I would have told you. It's just…"

"Say no more, Lincoln," Albert spoke after a few seconds of silence from the boy. "You haven't told the girls yet, and you're worried about how they'll react." Lincoln gave a shameful nod. "Don't fret too hard, kiddo. I had that issue a couple of times with your Aunt Ruth when we were kids."

"Besides," Myrtle added, "the girls are asleep. It's just us, so you can be honest with us."

"Well… okay. The truth is, I've actually been doing gymnastics these past two months. I didn't know when Jordan first told me that that was what it was, but once I gave it a go, I found I really enjoyed it."

"Gymnastics! How wonderful! Is it artistic or rhythmic?"

"It's artistic. I've tried rhythmic when helping Lola with pageanting, and I just found it frustrating."

"Well, I think that's marvellous, Lincoln! I don't know why you'd try to hide that!"

He moved his hand behind his other arm, rubbing it nervously. "Well, my sisters haven't always been the most sensitive when it comes to some of my hobbies. I was worried they might tease me for doing something like that. It's not the most masculine sport, I guess."

"You'd be surprised!" Albert remarked, pouring the now ready tea into some mugs, giving one to Myrtle and one to Lincoln, while grabbing one for himself too. "Back in my navy days, I had a buddy named Jeffrey Johnson, though we always called him Jumpin' J. He wasn't the biggest guy, but he was much stronger than he seemed. When we asked him about it, he said that he was a gymnast in high school."

Lincoln raised his eyebrows in intrigue, taking a sip of his tea. "No kidding!"

"Yeah, and apparently, he was really gifted. Claimed he had been recommended for the national team, but he turned it down so he could enlist. We never found out if that was true or not, but it never mattered. Point is, even if it isn't the most 'manly' sport, it takes strength, conditioning and resilience to get good at that. The same traits it takes to be in the navy."

"Wow… I never thought of it like that."

"More importantly," Myrtle then added, "you have no reason to be ashamed. If you enjoy it, then that's what matters."

"Yeah, you're right." He then let out a yawn. "Guess that tea really is helping."

"Told you it would."

The boy nodded at his grandfather's words, then drank the last of the tea. "Well, I guess I should wash this before I go to bed."

"I'll take care of that, sweetie," Myrtle insisted, taking the cup from him.

"Thanks, Gram Gram." He gave her a hug that she happily returned, before going to Pop Pop and sharing a hug with him. "Thanks, Pop Pop. I'm glad I talked with you two."

"Us too, kiddo," he replied, ruffling his grandson's hair. "And, hey. Remember how I said I had secrets from your Aunt Ruth, because I was worried of what she would think? Well, it always turned out to be nothing to worry about, so don't worry about what your sisters will think when you tell them. Remember, they love you, and they want you to be happy."

"Okay, Pop Pop."

"Attaboy. Now, go on and get to bed."

Lincoln nodded. "Goodnight, you two." They replied in kind, and he went back upstairs to his bedroom, where he was able to sleep with ease.


	59. Ch 59- A Scare Shared

"Sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving," Jordan remarked to Lincoln.

"Yeah, all things considered, it was fun. What about you?"

It was Friday, and now that school was over, the two were sat in the back of Mrs Rosato's car as she drove them towards her house, so that they could continue working on their geography project. As a way of passing the time, Jordan had decided to ask what had happened since they parted ways the day before, whilst the adult in the driver's seat simply smiled as the kids got along.

"It was alright. Nothing particularly exciting happened, but it was nice to see my Aunt and Uncle again. Plus, they showed us the pictures of their new dog, and she looked so cute!"

"Tell him what Ajax did," Mrs Rosato called to the back as she turned a corner.

"Oh, right!" She saw that the boy looked curious about this, so she told him the story. "So, while they were showing us their dog, Ajax jumped on the couch to see what we were doing, and when he saw the pictures, he got jealous and walked away! He stuck his nose up and everything!"

This made Lincoln smile. "That's adorable! I imagine you made up for it, right?"

"Of course. Soon as he did that, I picked him up to cuddle him, and he wouldn't leave my lap until dinner was ready." Lincoln gave a laugh as he imagined this, which got Jordan laughing as well. "But, yeah. Apart from that, it was pretty quiet."

"That's because you had nine less people in the house."

"You're not wrong."

'I couldn't imagine catering to that many people,' Mrs Rosato thought to herself, just as her house appeared near the end of the street. "Okay, kids! We're here!"

She pulled the car into the driveway, slowing it to a stop and turning off the engine. Taking off their seatbelts, Jordan and Lincoln grabbed their bags and exited the car, shutting the doors so Mrs Rosato could lock the car before she let them into the house. After stepping inside, Lincoln immediately caught sight of the spotty furred dog they had just been talking about. He didn't need to say anything before the dog caught sight of him, barking happily and running up to the Loud boy, planting his front paws on Lincoln's legs. Lincoln smiled at the affection, kneeling down to pet the dog and scratch behind his ears.

"Hey there, buddy," he greeted. "Did you miss me?" Ajax barked happily, his trial wagging rapidly. He leapt up slightly to lick Lincoln on the face, making the boy and the two Rosato's laugh. "I missed you too, Ajax."

"Alright, come here, you," Mrs Rosato then said, picking up the dog who then gave her a lick as well. "Jordan can play with you later, and if he has time, maybe Lincoln will too." She turned to the two kids. "I'll take this hyper guy on a walk in a little while. Lincoln, would you like anything to drink or eat?"

"I'm okay, Mrs Rosato. Thanks for offering, though."

"Alright. Jordan, you want anything, sweetie?" Her daughter simply shook her head. "Okay. If you want something, you know where everything is. Have fun with your project."

"Thanks, mom," Jordan replied, before her mother disappeared up the staircase, leaving the two kids to themselves. "So, I need to grab my laptop so we can work. Make yourself comfortable in the living room. I'd suggest we work in the dining room, but mom insists on only having dinner stuff on that table."

"Okay." She nodded back, and made her way upstairs as well. While she was grabbing whatever they needed, he went into the living room, sitting himself down on the black couch which he quickly found was insanely comfortable. He practically sank into it, a relaxed sigh escaping his lips. "That's crazy…"

"Comfy?" He heard Jordan say, turning to see the girl had a smirk on her face, a light blue laptop under her arm.

"Very." She couldn't help but giggle at his response, sitting down beside him. "If we had a couch like this, me and my sisters would be fighting over who got to use it. AS A BED."

"You would not."

"You'd be surprised." Once again, she laughed, this time more heartily, bringing a smile to his face as he sat up straight. "So, where were we at last time?"

"I think we were looking at some of the culture. Literature, art, fashion… there's a reason they consider Italy one of the most romantic places in the world."

"Yeah, I get what you mean." He saw her open the laptop and turned it on, so he looked away while she put in her password, waiting for her to tap him on the shoulder so he could look again. When he did, he saw that her screen was showing what they had been working on that past Wednesday. "So, should we just continue where we left off?"

"Sure."

* * *

So, they continued with their research project, looking more into some of the culture of some of the cities they were looking at, from the birth of opera and some of the early classical composers, to the art of the Renaissance and the old school Italian literature, as well as some of the fashion trends and festivals. They looked at this stuff for close to three quarters of an hour, until they saw Mrs Rosato appear, Ajax trying to get to them but being held back by the woman by his dog leash.

"Sweetie, I'll be back in about an hour," she said to her daughter. "Your father should be back by then, but he said he might be working late today."

"Okay, mom," Jordan called back.

"If I'm not back before then, I'll ring the house phone." She looked to the boy sat next to her daughter. "Lincoln, if your parents come to collect you before then, it was nice seeing you again."

"You too, Mrs Rosato."

"Have fun, kids."

Jordan waited for her mom to shut the door before turning to her friend. "Do all of your friends mom's like you that much?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Lincoln, I've had a lot of friends over here, but she has never been as nice around any of them as she has been around you. Sure, she's nice to them, but not like she is to you."

"Come on, you don't mean that."

"I'm serious! You've made a real impression on her." Her smile turned into a smirk as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't be trying to charm her, would you?" She watched in delight as the boy turned bright red and began stammering his denial, until she was unable to hold back her laughter. "I'm kidding!" Though he was thankful that she was, he still felt embarrassed, not helped by the fact her laughter took just a little too long to die down. "On that note, I think it's time we took a break. I'm gonna go grab a soda. You want one?"

"Yes, please," he grumbled, giving a slight pout. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she began walking away, giving Lincoln the chance to calm down after the sudden little joke she played with him. If he was being honest, he didn't feel mad at her, and he'd probably see that it was kind of funny. Of course, it helped him to get over it when he saw her return with something as well as soda. "Cookies?"

"Figured we'd earned them. Plus, this way, you can't be mad at me or I won't let you have any."

"Touché. Is your mom okay with this?"

"I won't tell her if you won't."

He chuckled, accepting the soda and grabbing a choc chip cookie from the plate once she had set it on the coffee table. "Someone's feeling a bit mischievous today."

"What can I say? I'm in a good mood today."

"I hear that."

They both took a bite of their cookies, sitting in silence for a few moments as they enjoyed the sugary treats, before Jordan put her soda down. "Lincoln? Can I ask you something? It's… something I've been wondering about, and… I wasn't sure whether I should say something or not."

This caught his curiosity, his brain trying and failing to figure out what she would ask. "What is it?" She tried to ask, but she hesitated, her eyes mirroring her conflicted thoughts, so he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You can ask."

She met his eyes, seeing a friendly warmth in them, so she took a deep breath and asked him. "You remember gym class on Wednesday? What was that?"

As his mind went back to that time in question, and his eyes went wide.

* * *

_The whistle resonated throughout the gym hall, getting all kids to stop what they were doing. "Okay, line up!" Coach Pacowski ordered. "Because it's warm outside, and the school wants to make sure I'm incorporating 'fun' into your lessons, we're going to be doing something different this week. Before that, everyone do two laps of the hall, then meet me outside." _

_Before anyone could question it, he blew his whistle again, getting everyone to begin their laps around the gym hall. As they ran, Lincoln looked to his friends. "What do you think he's gonna make us do?"_

"_I have no idea," Rusty replied, "but whenever Coach says 'fun', I get worried."_

"_Still, it'll be nice to have class outside today," Stella argued. "It should be nice out today."_

"_Yeah, way better than the heatwave last week," Zach agreed._

"_Either way," Lincoln then said, "I don't wanna see what Coach'll do if we take too long."_

_They all agreed and picked up the pace, completing the rest of their laps in relatively quick time before heading outside. Once he saw everyone was there, making sure that Clyde- who was unfortunate enough to be the last one out- did ten press ups as well, he turned to the class. "Okay. Now that we're all gathered, we're going to be doing something different today."_

"_You already said that, Coach!"_

_He gave a glare to the boy who yelled that out. "Jackson! Ten press ups! Now!" The boy whined before dropping to the floor to do those press ups. "As I was saying, since the weather is somewhat pleasant, you kids are going to play the all time Great American pastime: softball!"_

_Some of the kids cheered at the announcement, happy to be playing the game. As they listened to the gym teacher explain what they would be doing, however, Jordan looked to her left and caught sight of Lincoln, who was in a bad state. He had paled, his eyes were wide, and his chest was moving up and down with each frantic breath he took. Concerned for her friend, she raised her hand to say something, but then found that she didn't need to. _

"_Lincoln!" everyone heard Stella shout, just as the Loud boy dropped down onto his behind, his head shaking back and forth as he muttered to himself. The students crowded around him, all muttering what was happening, until Coach Pacowski made them back off. Jordan was worried, unable to see her friend through the crowd, so she pushed through until she found Stella._

"_What's going on?" _

"_I have no idea," the Filipina admitted._

"_QUIET!" their gym teacher yelled, before kneeling down in front of the white haired child, grasping his shoulders with both hands. "Loud! Loud, look at me!" It took a few moments and a gentle shaking, but Lincoln eventually calmed down enough to face the teacher, no longer shaking his head and his breathing lowered somewhat. "You okay there, Loud?"_

"_I… I think so, Coach."_

"_Hmm… you don't look too good." He looked over his shoulder at the other students. "McBride, take Lincoln to the nurse's office, then come back. I'll come to check on him in a little while." _

_Clyde nodded, walking over to help Lincoln to his feet, then taking the boy back into the school. All Jordan could do was wonder what had happened._

* * *

As his mind thought on this, she saw that he was beginning to have the same reaction- his face went pale, his breathing sharpened, his head began shaking- so she moved towards him, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other on the side of his head. "Lincoln! Lincoln! Look at me!" His eyes seemed to be darting about, but after a few seconds, they met her gaze, one full of concern. "You're okay. Just breathe." He started to take deep breaths, Jordan doing so with him to help, and after a few moments, he was able to calm down. "You alright?l

"Yeah, I'm… I'm okay," he replied, frowning. "Sorry about that."

She shook her head, frowning as well. "Don't be. I shouldn't have asked, I should've known that you would have a reaction. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not. You were just…" As he realised how they were currently positioned, he blushed. "Um, your hand is kind of… on my cheek."

Realising that she had held it there for too long, she pulled her hand back and put it on her lap, blushing as well. "Sorry."

"I-it's okay." They were silent for a couple of seconds, before he decided to speak again. "I'm... guessing you're wondering what that was about."

"A little..l but, Lincoln, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to say, really. I don't want to force you."

"Thanks. I… the truth is, other than my family, no one else knew about that until Wednesday. That was… the first time it's happened outside of home."

She gave him a sympathetic look, her heart aching at hearing him sound so lost. "Lincoln… you know you can tell me anything, right? If it's too much, then I understand, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

He looked at her, and she gave a small smile to affirm her words. "Well… okay. Just… please don't be upset." Though she wondered why he would say that, she decided to nod and let him speak first. "At the start of summer break, my sister Lynn invited me to one of her s…" He began gripping at his leg, trying to prevent a reaction from happening again. "One of her games. I had already been to see a lot of my sisters' events that week, and I was hoping for some alone time, so I tried saying no, but she kind of… forced me to go." He saw that Jordan was going to ask about that, so he quickly added, "I'd rather not talk about that." Understanding that that was a no-go area, she nodded, allowing him to continue. "Well, I went to see her… g-game, and her team lost. I tried to cheer her up, but she instead started… calling me bad luck."

"Bad luck? Really?" Seeing how he was starting to breathe a little shakier, she knew he was telling the truth. "It's okay, Lincoln. Take your time."

He nodded, taking a drink from his soda, being careful not to spill any of it. "So… after that, she tried to make the others think I was bad luck, and… me being the idiot I am, I saw that as a way to… get some alone time. I played along with it, and for a couple of days, I actually enjoyed it, but then they stopped letting me go to family things, like cinema trips and shopping at the mall. It went like that for another day or so, until… the nightmare happened."

Jordan saw that Lincoln was getting more emotional now, so she shuffled towards him and put a hand on his back. "It's okay, Lincoln. You don't have to keep going if you don't want."

"No, no. I just… need a moment."

"Don't worry. I'm right here, Lincoln. Don't push yourself too much."

"Thank you." He took another drink of his soda, then rubbed the back of his arm, still gripping his leg tightly. "I dreamt that… my family… l-locked me out for… being bad luck. I tried to… tell them the truth, but… they wouldn't listen. So, I… disguised myself as the mascot for Lynn's team, to prove she could win if I was near. She won, but instead of believing I wasn't bad luck, my family… thought I was good luck if I wore the suit, so… th-they wouldn't let me take it off." Jordan gave a small gasp, but didn't interrupt as she saw the tears starting to roll from his eyes. "It just got… worse a-and worse, until I woke up. I-I told my family the truth, and they told me that they knew, that they were teaching me a lesson for lying to them so I could get free time. I apologised and they forgave me, but… I'm just not over it yet." He finally let go of his leg, which was a little sore from his grip, and wiped away his tears, even though new ones took their place. "You probably think the worst of me now, huh?"

"Not at all," she answered in a gentle voice. "Sure, you went about it the wrong way, but you just wanted some free time, and you've clearly learnt your lesson."

He sniffled. "Really?"

"Yes. Lincoln, what you did wasn't right, but I don't care about what you did. I care about what it's done to you."

"Honestly, it's not as bad as it used to be. It's still kinda bad, but… for the first few weeks, I was… a wreck. I had reactions like that to a number of things- sports in general, squirrels, the beach… Lynn."

Jordan's eyes went wide again. "You were… scared of your own sister?" He shamefully nodded, making her frown more deeply. "Oh, Lincoln…"

"I know. Honestly, I think that was what made me realise I needed help. I couldn't even be in the same room as her for anything. So, I went to see someone who tried to help me, and for the most part, she did. My issues with Lynn went away, I'm not scared of squirrels or the beach or most of that stuff anymore. Just can't get over… th-that last thing."

She gave a small nod. "I get it, Lincoln. It's okay, really. Do you still see whoever it was you saw?"

"Not anymore, but I have her number if I need it, and she taught me a few things that help. It's mostly stuff to help me calm down, though."

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out." He gave a small nod, but the look in his eyes told her that he questioned it. "Did I ever tell you why I'm so scared of barbed wire?"

"Um… now that you mention it, I don't think so."

"Well, it started when I was in first grade. I was with my parents on holiday, and we were walking around this little village near Chicago, when suddenly, we saw two massive, rabid dogs break out of a nearby van. One of them saw me with an angry look, and began to chase after me. My parents tried stopping it, but the other dog got in their way, so I just ran as fast as I could. I tried to escape through an alleyway and get through a barbed wire fence, but I tripped, and I got caught in it. My hair was completely caught, my legs were cut up, I had a cut on my cheek, and the more I tried to get out, the more it hurt." She felt a tear roll down her face as the memories appeared in her mind. "I saw the dog coming towards me, and all I could do was cry and hope someone would help me. If it wasn't for the butcher in the shop, that dog could've attacked me, but he was able to get me free. Once the dogs were taken away, my parents found me and took me to a nearby hospital, and everything was fine, but ever since then, barbed wire has freaked me out. The idea that it can just trap you like that… I never want that to happen again."

As she wiped away the tear, Lincoln couldn't help but feel bad for her. "Woah… I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

There was no helping the smile that came to her face. "Lincoln, you don't have to say that. It was years ago, and it still scares me a little, but I've started to get past it too. Point is, you'll find a way to get past this. I just… it scared me to see you like that, you know?"

"I'm sorry."

She patted his knee. "Stop saying you're sorry, okay? I'm not mad at you, I just want to know you're okay."

"I am. I know you said not to, but… sorry I scared you. I don't want to scare you."

"You're sweet, Lincoln. Don't worry about me." They smiled at each other for a few seconds, before Jordan stood up. "Come on, let's not let this ruin the mood."

He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing as she approached the TV, and was going to ask until he heard music begin to play. As he heard a familiar guitar riff, his eyes lit up. "No way! You like Smooch too?!"

"Of course! I listen to a mix of music, but this is one band I can't say no to!" She started to bop her head and move along with the beat, before looking at the boy again. "Don't just sit there, let's dance!"

Not needing to be told twice, he got up and joined her, the two rocking out with big grins on their faces, the somber mood of the previous conversation now gone, and not a care in the world. They were having fun, and in that moment, that's all that mattered to them.


	60. Ch 60- Games, Grub And A Good Time

**(A/N: hey, everyone! As Tristen reminded me in his review, today is the one year anniversary of this fanfic! I'm honestly surprised I've been working on this for as long as I have, and that it's grown to what it has, and I owe that to all of you. You've been so supportive with this that I want to keep it going all the way to the end, because you guys deserve that.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

Saturday had rolled around, and for one Lincoln Loud, it was a chance for him to relax and just lay on his bed. While he normally would have gone to the mall with his sisters, they all knew that Christmas was coming up, which meant they needed to save up their money for when they eventually went gift shopping. Not that Lincoln minded, of course. Sure, he wasn't able to get the new Ace Savvy comic straight away, but he could wait for that, as the latest storyline hadn't been that exciting. Normally, when this was the case, he would either play one of his video games or watch TV, but he knew that the twins were using the TV right then, which meant he couldn't use the home console, and he didn't have any new games for his portable console.

'Normally, I'd be bored,' he thought to himself, staring up at the ceiling, 'but I'm actually kind of enjoying this. The house is pretty quiet for once, and it's nice to just take a break. This week has been pretty eventful.' He pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking at some of his latest photos, featuring moments from the pool party, his geography project sessions with Jordan and Thanksgiving, and they brought a smile to his face. 'No one can say my that life is boring, that's for sure.' As his eyes glanced over a particular picture— one of his grandfather being 'attacked' by some of his sisters, he thought back to the conversation he had with the senior citizen.

"_Don't worry about what your sisters will think when you tell them,"_ his words echoed in the boy's mind. _"Remember, they love you, and they want you to be happy."_

'I wish it wasn't so hard for me to just tell them. I know that's partly my fault for leaving it this long, but I don't know how to deal with that nagging feeling in the back of my mind.' He sighed before shaking that feeling away, not wanting that thought to sour his mood. 'I can't think like that. Otherwise, I'm never gonna tell them. I just need to have a plan.'

It was at that moment, he remembered the photos that Leni had sent him a couple of weeks prior, from her discussion with Lynn. Going further back through his photos, he looked at what his fashion loving sister had sent him. 'Since I'm not doing anything, maybe I can speak to one of them. Which one, though…' As he thought about it, he heard the sounds of music begin to play from further down the hallway. He knew from the style of music who was playing it, and as he looked over the pictures, a small amount of hope came to his mind. 'I've been able to talk to her about stuff in the past. Maybe she'll understand.'

His mind set, he put his phone back in his pocket, got up from the bed and left his bedroom, heading down the landing until he reached the far right bedroom. The door was open, and one look in showed that his rocker older sister was sat on her beanbag chair, her purple electric guitar in her hands as she strummed away. Her eyes were shut at first, but as if she sensed her brother's presence, she opened them, giving a smile as she saw him. "Hey there, bro," she greeted.

"Hey, Luna," he greeted back, stepping into the room. "What are you up to?"

"Just working on a new song. We've got the lyrics down, just trying to get the groove right. Mind if I ask you for your opinion?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Could we maybe talk about something after?"

"You know it, bro. You can lay it on me."

"Thanks. So, what have you got so far?"

Luna's smile grew a bit as she sat up, reaching onto her desk to grab a sheet of paper. She gave it a quick read over, before putting it back on her desk and preparing to play. "Alright, here we go, bro. One… two… one, two, three-"

"LANA!"

The ferocity of the yell caught them both off guard, their heads turning towards the open door. "Was that Lola?"

"Sounds like it, dude," Luna agreed. "We should probably go see what's going on."

"Right." The two then left the bedroom, with Luna leaving her guitar on her beanbag. As they headed downstairs, the shouting got louder, and they could see that Lola was fighting to get out of Luan and Leni's grip, whilst Lana was trying to get away from Lynn. "What is going on?"

"That dumpster diver let her frog get all over me!" Lola seethed, thrashing as much as she could.

"She tried to steal my hat!" Lana argued.

"This don't look good, bro," Luna pointed out, while her brother just sighed.

"No, it does not." Realising that the situation was tense, he stepped forward. "Girls, let's just calm down and try and talk this out, okay? We don't want this to get any worse than-"

"What is going on down there?!"

Lincoln sighed again, this time in a more dejected manner. "Why did I even open my mouth?"

Everyone looked as the eldest sister made her way down the stairs, a stern look on her face. "I am TRYING to talk to my boyfriend!" She yelled. "So, someone had better have a good reason for all this yelling!" The two twins tried at the same time to tell their side of things, but they just ended up speaking over each other, causing Lori's anger to rise. "ENOUGH!" Once the twins were silenced, she crossed her arms. "Right. Since neither of you are going to be civil, it seems that we've got no choice."

"Please, no," Lincoln whined, but it went unnoticed.

"The sibling fight protocol is now in effect!" Everyone other than Lori and the twins— who were staring daggers at each other— gave heavy groans at the announcement. "For the time being, you will be kept separate from each other, until you've calmed down and we can reach an agreement."

As Lori went over the terms, Luna looked over her shoulder to see Lincoln going upstairs. "Where you headed, brah?"

"I'm gonna just hole myself in my room until this is over," he explained, before doing just that. He went up to his room, shutting the door and locking it. "It's a good thing Lana put that lock on for me." As he walked over and collapsed on his bed, he gave another heavy sigh. "This stupid protocol… it's not as bad as it used to be, but… there's got to be a better way for them to deal with it."

As he shut his eyes out of exasperation, he heard his phone ringing, so he pulled it out of his pocket to check who was calling. Seeing the caller ID, he answered it. "Hey, Jordan."

"**Hey, Lincoln,"** he heard the girl answer.

"What's up?"

"**I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I'm kind of bored right now, and I know the others are all busy with things."**

"Sure, I'm up for hanging out. What did you have in mind?"

"**Well, I remembered when I sat with your friends at lunch last week, and that they mentioned that arcade you guys like… something games and… something**."

He gave a small chuckle. "Gus' Games and Grub."

"**That's the one. Well, I was thinking of checking it out."**

"Okay, sure! I can meet you at the park, and then we can walk over."

"Sounds great. See you in a little while, then."

"I'll see you then." Hanging up the phone, he got off the bed and walked over to his desk, pulling his wallet out of the drawer. "Well, at least I'll be able to enjoy today, rather than have to sit through another protocol." His eyes then glanced over to the poster near his window. "Good thing I have an escape route."

* * *

Jordan sat on a park bench, looking at her phone as she waited for Lincoln to arrive. 'I wonder what's keeping him,' she thought. 'Still, better being sat here waiting for him, than being sat at home and doing nothing.' She looked up from her phone and caught glimpse of some white hair, prompting her to stand up and wave. However, when she saw that it was an old man, and said old man waved back, she gave a sheepish smile as she sat down, blushing bright red. 'Yep, that's embarrassing.'

"Jordan!" She heard a familiar voice call, looking the other way to see that Lincoln was walking towards her. "Sorry I took so long. I had to make sure I didn't get caught by my sisters."

"It's alright," she replied, standing up. "So, which way is the arcade?"

"It's not far, just a few minutes that way." She nodded and walked in the way he pointed. "So, who were you waving at?"

"You saw that?" When he nodded, she felt her blush grow. "Oh, it, uh… it was… I thought it was someone else."

"Let me guess, an old man with white hair."

She looked at him, equally embarrassed and shocked that he figured it out. "How did you know?!"

He simply smirked and told her, "Jordan, all of my friends have done that at some point. It's no big deal."

"You sound way too cool with that."

"Well, I've kind of gotten used to it."

"Still," she rubbed the back of her arm, "I feel a little bad about it."

"Jordan, it's no sweat. Really, I'm over it."

"You mean it?" Seeing the boy nod and smile at her, she couldn't help but smile back at him. "Thanks. So, how come you're avoiding your sisters?"

He groaned slightly. "Lola and Lana got in a pretty big fight, which means the whole house is pretty tense."

Jordan lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "How is that…"

"It's a bit of a long story. The short version is, my sisters have a protocol for this, which I think doesn't work, but they won't listen to me about it. They keep the two sisters who are fighting apart from each other, and no one is allowed in the same room as them."

"Wait, what?! No one's allowed in the same room as them?!"

"Yep. The whole thing used to be much worse, though. A while back, they put the old protocol into effect, and I didn't even know what it meant back then. They would use the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room or even someone else's bedroom as a cool off room, and anyone else would get forced out."

"That sounds horrible!"

The boy nodded. "It was. I had to leave the house for the day to let things blow over… though, I'll admit, I didn't make things better. Again, a long story."

"I get it. You tried to help, they didn't want it, and things just got more tense."

"Something like that. Anyway, the new protocol is better, as you're only allowed to cool off in your own bedroom, or in the dining room if you're fighting with your roommate, but it's still not perfect." He turned to her and smiled. "I'm glad you asked me to hang out."

"Me too." They walked for another minute or so before reaching their destination. The building had a retro aesthetic, with green and white chequered walls, plus a red neon sign that read _Gus' Games & Grub snack bar_. "I've walked down this street so many times, yet I don't think I've ever really noticed this place."

"I get what you mean. If you aren't looking for somewhere, it's easy to overlook it." He saw the girl nod before he approached the door and held it open. "Shall we?"

She gave a giggle at his 'act of chivalry', then entered the building, where she was met with more of that retro aesthetic— black and white chequered floor, red leather booths with black tables between them, old school arcade cabinets, pinball machines and air hockey tables, and even a jukebox. "Woah… is this place from the fifties or something?"

"The building itself is pretty old, but I think the actual arcade opened in the nineties or something. Lori said there's a plaque somewhere, but I think it's in the employee area."

"Well, it's still pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is. So, do you want to grab something to eat first, or go straight for one of the games?"

"I'm not really hungry at the moment, so let's try a game. I don't really know what's good here, so you can pick something."

"Okay, then. Let's see…" His eyes browsed the cabinets for a few seconds, as he tried to decide. "Let's try… this one." He led her over to one of the cabinets, which had the title _Monkey King_. "This one's a classic, and it's not too hard to pick up."

"Alright. Let's give it a shot, then." She reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet, taking a quarter from it and putting it in the machine, then pressing the start button. Looking at the screens, she saw the instructions and controls appear for a few seconds. "Okay, yeah, seems simple enough. Let's do this."

Pressing the start button again, the screen changed, showing what looked like a construction site, with a giant, pixelated red gorilla at the top of it in front of a pile of barrels and a woman in a cage. At the bottom of the scaffolding was a short pixelated man. The game said **START**, and the gorilla began throwing this barrels, which began to roll down the scaffolding, so Jordan began to move the man up it. When the barrels got close enough, she would make the character leap over them, making steady progress towards the top.

"Okay, you're doing good," Lincoln told her. "Ooh! Go for the hammer!"

"The hammer? Okay, if you say so." She moved her character further along until it reached the hammer, which it grabbed and then began swinging up and down. When one of the barrels got too close, the hammer destroyed it, creating a small pixelated explosion. "Oh, I see! Alright, let's do this!"

She continued to play all the way to the top, never letting the barrels hit her guy, and once she got to the very top, it cleared the level. She celebrated with Lincoln until the next level began, and this time, the barrels came quicker, so she lost a life early on. Having two more, she got higher up on her second attempt, but then the gorilla began throwing barrels directly down, which took her down to her final life. Determined to beat this level, she tried again, and after narrowly dodging a downward barrel, she was able to get all the way to the top, clearing the second level. The third level, however, showed her less mercy, and once again, she was caught off when the gorilla threw a barrel down at rapid speed, taking her final life and triggering the **GAME OVER** screen.

"Ooh," Lincoln said as he saw the hi-score table appear. "Unlucky, Jordan."

"I don't mind," she replied, taking her tickets. "Besides, it was pretty fun." She turned to her friend. "So, what next?"

"Alright. Let's go for something different this time." Looking further to the right, his eyes lit up. "How about a racing game?"

"Okay." She followed him to a pair of racing sim machines, each with the title _TurboCity_. "Ooh! This looks cool!"

"You up for a race?"

She donned a confident grin as she nodded back at him, the two kids taking a seat at each machine. "I'll let you pick the track."

"You're gonna regret that." After they put their quarters in, Lincoln went through the different tracks and eventually chose a beachside street race, before they both chose their cars— Lincoln going with a red sports car, while Jordan chose a silver low-rider. After checking how to play the game, they started the race, both cars lining up side by side on the starting line. "Get ready to eat my dust."

"In your dreams, Loud."

**THREE… TWO… ONE… RACE!**

The two then began to drive their cars down the city roads, turning the wheel to control the car, neither taking their eyes off their screens. The cars raced along the streets, speeding past the shoreline on one side, and the shops and other buildings on the other side. While Lincoln was racing smoothly through the city, Jordan was having a little more difficulty with controlling her vehicle, trying to get to grips with the gear shift and the steering wheel. In the end, Lincoln crossed the finish line, prompting him to pump his fist in the air.

"Oh, yeah!" He celebrated, a big grin on his face. When he turned to Jordan, however, his grin faded and instead mirrored the frown on his friend's face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "I just don't think this is my kind of game."

"Right… sorry, I… probably shouldn't have celebrated so hard. Guess I get a little competitive sometimes."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, just because this isn't my kind of game, doesn't mean I won't enjoy some of the others. We're here to both have fun, not just me."

This got the boy to perk up a little bit. "Right! So, shall we move onto something else?

"Sure, but this time, I think I'll pick."

* * *

So, for the next hour or so, the two of them had fun at the arcade, trying out the different games available. Like Jordan had said, she found that some games weren't her thing, but she excelled with the shooter game and at air hockey, and no matter what the two played, she had fun, which made Lincoln happy. After they'd played a lot of games, they decided to take a break and grab something to eat. While Lincoln ordered a basket of fries and a root beer, Jordan got an order of nachos with a lemonade.

"This has been a lot of fun," Jordan told the white haired boy, once they had finished their food. "I'd definitely say I'm more of a console girl, but I could definitely see myself hanging out with you and your friends here again. If you'd let me, of course."

"Of course!" he replied, taking a sip from his root beer. "I had fun too, and I'm sure the others would be happy to have you join us sometime." As they smiled at each other, he heard his phone beep, so he checked the text he had just received. "Well, it looks like my sisters have managed to calm down and sort things out."

"Oh, that's good. Guess that means… you'll be heading back home, then."

He noticed the hint of disappointment behind her words. "I probably should… but, I think I have some time." Jordan raised her eyebrow with intrigue as Lincoln began texting something, trying to peek without being too obvious, but she didn't have to wait too long before Lincoln looked at her again. "Alright. I've let Lynn know where I am, so I don't have to go just yet." He finished the rest of his soda and put his phone away. "Shall we play something else?"

"Sure, though how much is there that we haven't played?"

"Well, there's one I really enjoy, and I think you will too. Come on." He got up from the booth and the girl followed him over to another two player machine, this one titled _Dance Battle_. "This is probably my favourite game here."

"A dance game? I don't know, Lincoln. I'm not that good of a dancer."

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it. Besides, you seemed to have fun yesterday." She blushed a little at the memory. "All you have to do is stomp your foot on the arrows that you see on the screen."

She thought for a second, before smiling. "Alright, let's give it a go. Though, maybe choose something easy, if you can."

"No problem." They then put one quarter into each coin slot, and Lincoln chose an easy song on battle mode for them to do. "You ready?"

"Sure." She looked back at the screen as the song began playing, and once the arrows began to move down the screen, she began moving her feet on the respective arrows beneath her, building up a rhythm over time. "Okay… this isn't too bad."

"See? I told you that you'd like this."

She nodded at her friend's words, while focusing on the screen as the song picked up in tempo a bit. As he played as well, Lincoln would occasionally glance over at his friend— not out of competition, but just to see how she was doing. At one point, he heard her laughing, and he looked once again, only to see that she was really enjoying herself. Her eyes had lit up and she had the biggest smile on her face as she jumped and stomped to the rhythm. He could have sworn she was glowing from how much she was enjoying it, and he didn't even realise that he had stopped playing. Even when the song was over, he smiled at how happy she was, while she looked at the screen as the scores started to appear. "That was awesome!" She cheered. "I haven't had that much fun dancing in a long time!" When she saw the final scores, her eyes widened. "Woah! We came pretty close!" She turned to Lincoln, who had just snapped out of his dazed state, and gave him a grin and a raised eyebrow. "Were you going easy on me?"

"What? No, of course not! You just happen to be really good at it!"

"Oh, really? Well, if that's the case, then you won't mind letting me pick the next song."

"Wait. You want to play again?" She nodded, and he couldn't help but give a chuckle. "If you're sure."

"Oh, I am."

So, they put in another pair of quarters, and whilst Jordan began looking through the songs, Lincoln simply smiled. 'I never thought I'd be thankful that my sisters got into a fight.'


	61. Ch 61- Message Alert

"Grr… where is it?"

Lana looked away from Izzy's cage, seeing her twin and roommate reaching under her bed. "What are you looking for?" She asked, prompting the pageant princess to back up and look at her.

"I'm trying to find my ribbon stick. I have pageant practice after school tomorrow, and I need to do some solo practice today to make up for not practicing on Thanksgiving." She narrowed her eyes at the animal lover. "You didn't let Charles play with it again, did you? That ribbon stick was _very _expensive."

"No, and I didn't let El Diablo near it, either."

"Wait, what?! When did your snake get near my ribbon stick?!"

"He thought it was a female snake one time." She smiled at the memory. "I had to give him a dead mouse to get him away."

Lola did not share the sentiment, giving a shudder at the thought. "Whatever. If you do see it, just place it on my bed, and don't let any of your pets anywhere near it." She decided that it was best if she looked elsewhere, so she left her sister alone in their room. 'Where could it be?' she pondered, looking down the landing, then looking the other direction. 'Maybe Linky's seen it somewhere. He did join my tea party after the fight yesterday.' She walked up to the far door and pushed it open before stepping in. "Linky?" A quick glance around told her that the boy was not, in fact, in the room. "Oh, right. He has practice." Looking back into the hallway and seeing that it was empty, she smirked, closing the door. "They won't mind if I look around quickly."

She started her search by walking over to the bed, kneeling down and looking underneath. "Comics, roller skates, cosplay costume… broken guitar? Must be one of Luna's." She paid it no attention, continuing to search until she found that her ribbon stick wasn't there. "Dang it." She crawled back and stood up, dusting herself off. She took a quick look towards the desk to see if he had picked it up and put it on there, but only saw his laptop, video games, action figures, loose comics… and something else that caught her attention. "Ooh! What have we here?" She picked up what looked to be her brother's phone, and saw that it was still on. More importantly, however, she saw what was displayed. "What the…"

She was startled when she heard the door open, turning her head to see that it was Lori. "Lola, what are you doing in here?" she asked, before noticing the phone in the younger girl's hand. "Are you looking through Lincoln's phone?!"

Lola opened her mouth to argue, but before she could get a word out, she saw more of their sisters begin to congregate behind the high school senior, all giving her the same stink eyed expression and scolding her for doing so. She tried to explain herself, but the others were talking too loudly, causing her to get mad. "Hold it!" She took a moment to compose herself once the others had quieted down. "Thank you. As I was about to say, I was only in Lincoln's room because I was trying to find my ribbon stick."

"And why would it be in Lincoln's room?" Lucy questioned, making the others gasp after not realising she was there. "Seriously?"

Lola calmed down again from the brief shock. "Well, he DID join me for a tea party yesterday, so I thought he might have seen it."

"And you couldn't wait until he got back from dodgeball?"

Lola rolled her eyes at the comedienne's question. "Well, I didn't think he would mind, and I was only in there for a minute, but I didn't find it in here either."

"Oh!" Everyone turned to the second oldest blonde. "That's right! I borrowed it."

"Why would you borrow my ribbon stick?!"

"I wanted to use some material like that for a fashion project, so I took it to the material store so I could look for that material. Don't worry, I brought it back. It's in my bag."

"Okay, we're getting off point here," Lori interrupted, bringing everyone's attention back to the first grader. "That doesn't explain why you have Lincoln's phone."

"I was just _leaving_," Lola continued for explain, "when I saw that Linky had not only left his phone, but that it was on, and it's a good thing I did! You should see what's on here."

"Dude, that's low, even for you," Luna chided.

"Trust me!" She turned back to Lori and added, "you especially will want to see this."

Though Lori was going to deny, she couldn't deny that Lola's tone from saying this had caught her attention. With a sigh, she took it from the younger girl, shaking her head as she gave it a brief glance, intending to put it straight back, but seeing what was on the screen changed that altogether. "What the… what the heck is this?!"

"Perhaps you could be more descriptive," Lisa stated in a flat tone. "As in, with words."

"This is… some kind of list about me! 'Gossip', 'scary', 'phone obsessed'… what the literal heck?!" As some of the others began trying to look at the phone as well, Leni shot a worried look towards Lucy, and though her bangs hid it, Lucy was returning the same look to the fashionista. "Wait a minute… he's got them for each of us!"

"He has?" Lori nodded at Luan's question, before showing her the list on the high school comedienne. "'Joker', 'pranks'… 'clown school'? What does that have to do with Lori being a gossip?"

"It says I'm a gossip too," Luna mused as she took the phone and looked at her phone. "I wonder if this has anything to do with yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Lori turned to the brunette. "What do you mean?"

"Little bro wanted to talk to me about something before the protocol broke out. Didn't get chance to talk about it, because Sam asked me to hang out, and by the time I got back, I kinda forgot about it." She rubbed the back of her head, feeling slightly guilty. "Hope it wasn't anything too serious."

"It doesn't matter." Lori took the phone from her and turned it off, returning it to its owner's desk. "When that little twerp gets back, we're going to have a sibling meeting to talk about this. If he's hiding something from us, we're going to make him tell us." She then left the room and closed the door behind her. "For now, just do whatever you want, and no one tell Lincoln about this straight away."

The others nodded and began to go their own way. "Lola, I'll get your ribbon stick for you in a minute, okay?" Leni said with a smile, to which the self proclaimed princess rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I need to do my reading, anyway."

Once Lola was back in her room and the landing was all but empty, Leni dropped her smile and turned to Lucy, whose frown was deeper than it normally seemed. "What do we do?"

"I… I don't know," the goth admitted, rubbing her foot on the carpet. "We better tell Lynn when she gets back."

"Yeah…"

* * *

"Okay, everyone! Great session today!" Chris declared after finishing the cool down. "Glad to see Thanksgiving hasn't made any of you forget anything, you're all showing real improvement. That does it for today, so I'll see all of you on Tuesday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

Everyone thanked the instructor before beginning to head towards the changing rooms or to the exit. As they walked towards the changing rooms, Lincoln turned to Jordan and asked, "so, is it your mom that's giving us a ride this time?"

"Yeah," Jordan replied. "I think it's your mom's turn next week."

"I think so, yeah. So, I guess I'll catch up with you in a few minutes, then." She nodded, and they entered their respective changing rooms. Lincoln walked over to the bench where his stuff was waiting. As he sat down, he looked over and saw Artie, who was changing into his regular clothes. "Is it weird that I don't feel completely out of breath for once?"

The brown haired boy chuckled, poking his head through his t-shirt. "Nah, it just means you're getting better," he told the other boy. "First few weeks when I started, I was completely wiped after every session. Over time, my body started to get used to it."

"Guess that means all this practice is paying off."

"Yeah, it is. You're getting good, Lincoln."

The Loud child's smile grew from the compliment. "Thanks, Artie."

"Hey, me and some of the guys are planning on visiting the arcade after school on Wednesday. You wanna come join us?"

"Thanks, but I can't. I already spent my arcade money for the week yesterday, and I'm working on my geography project that day."

"Oh, right. Who'd you get partnered with for that?"

"Jordan."

"I'd ask which one, but given how you haven't called her this in a while, I'm gonna guess you mean Girl Jordan." Lincoln nodded. "Yeah, you lucked out. I got stuck with Papa Wheelie."

"Ooh, unlucky. Still, thanks for offering. Maybe another time."

"Sure thing, man." At that moment, he stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder. "Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"See you, Artie." He waved a little as the other boy made his way out of the changing room, leaving Lincoln to get changed by himself, and with no one else to talk to, he got done fairly quickly. He grabbed his stuff and left, heading back into the gymnastics hall, where he was surprised to see that his sister was there, her roller blades hanging on her shoulder and her helmet still on her head. "Lynn?"

"Hey, bro!" She greeted. "How was practice?"

"Pretty good. What about you? How was roller derby?"

"You know it, bro!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, should've known. So, what brings you here?"

"I figured I'd catch a ride home with you this week, if that's cool with Jordan."

"Sure, I doubt my mom will mind," they heard Jordan say as she approached them, fully changed into her regular clothes. "She's probably outside waiting for us, so we should go and meet her."

"Cool."

They headed out of the sports centre and into the parking lot, where they found Mrs Rosato waiting by her car. She saw the kids walking towards them and smiled. "Hey there, kids," she greeted.

"Hi, Mrs Rosato," Lincoln greeted back. "This is my sister, Lynn."

"Nice to meet you," the jock then told the woman.

"It's nice to meet you too. Do you need a ride home, too?"

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Sure, no problem. Hop in." So, whilst the adult got into the driver's seat, the three kids sat in the back, with Lincoln in between his friend and his sister. "So, Lynn," Mrs Rosato asked as she started to drive away, "other than Lincoln, I only know your older sister Leni through my other daughter, Jen. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

"Here we go," Lincoln jokingly said to Jordan, getting the girl to laugh while Lynn simply ignored his comment.

"Sure. I'm his fifth oldest sister, and I'm the athlete of the family."

"Oh, really? What do you play?"

"I do a few sports: basketball, soccer, roller derby, s-" She gave a quick look to her brother, catching herself before she caused another episode. "Uh, lacrosse, football and ice hockey."

"Wow! That's a lot of sports! How do you find the time to do all that?"

Lynn chuckled at Mrs Rosato's question. "Well, different seasons start at different times in the year, and it keeps me active. Plus, now that this guy right here's doing gymnastics," she reached over and wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulder, "I've gotta help him keep in shape, which means I can keep in shape too."

"It sounds like you two are pretty close."

"Well… we've definitely gotten closer this past couple of months. Right, bro?"

"Yeah," he told her. "We weren't _not _close before, but when I have ten sisters, I couldn't really get closer to one without upsetting the other nine, you know?"

"I can imagine," Mrs Rosato agreed. "It's the same when you're a parent. When Jordan was little, Jen always worried that we were favouring Jordan over her, but we always did our best to make sure that wasn't true."

"Yeah, our dad struggled with that a while back."

As Lincoln began retelling the story, Lynn reached into her pocket and pulled her phone. Turning it on, she saw that she had received a message from Lucy, which read:

**Lucy: we need to talk**

'Guess I had my phone on silent,' Lynn thought to herself, her brow furrowed as she wondered what the goth might want to talk about. 'Hope it's not too serious.'

**Lynn: k. On my way home now**

Satisfied with her reply, she put her phone back in her pocket. 'Guess I'll find out soon.'

* * *

The ride home didn't last long, with the car pulling up outside of the Loud house about five minutes before five o'clock. Once they had gotten out, Lynn and Lincoln said goodbye to the Rosato's and waved them off as they drove away, before heading towards the house. "You do realise it's stuff like that which makes your friends think you like her, right?" Lynn asked her brother, making him blush.

"You're a real pain at times," he bluntly responded. "You know that?"

"Yeah, but that's why you love me, bro."

He rolled his eyes before heading into the house, seeing the rest of his sisters sat on or in front of the couch. They turned to their brother when they saw him enter, giving him smiles that he didn't notice were just that little bit too eager. "Hey, Linky!" Luan greeted. "How was dodgeball practice?"

"Pretty good. Has Dream Boat started yet?"

"Nah, you've got time."

"Okay, cool. I'll grab a shower and join you."

The others all gave an "okay" as he made his way upstairs, none of them noticing that Lynn gave them a questioning look as she entered, closing the front door behind her.

'What was that about?' She thought, before shrugging it off and heading into the kitchen. She walked up to the fridge and pulled out a soda, taking a sip as she turned around, only to spit it out as she came face to face with Lucy, the goth looking unimpressed as soda dropped from her face. "Geez, Luce! I know we joke about the bell idea, but you've really got to stop that."

"Noted." She wiped away some of the liquid that had drenched her fringe. "You're back late."

"I got a ride back with Linc, so what? Anyway, what's up with the others? They were acting kind of weird."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She looked over her shoulder, checking that the others weren't watching, then turned back to her roommate. "Lola was in Lincoln's room earlier. She found the pictures on his phone."

"Pictures? What pic-" Her eyes slowly went wide as she realised what Lucy was referring to, a sense of dread washing over. "Oh."

"Lori's gonna hold a sibling meeting after dinner, and they're going to make him come clean. What do we do?"

"Alright, just give me a second here." She took another drink from her soda, racking her brain as she tried to figure out how to deal with their current predicament. Once she gulped down her drink, she reached an idea. "Okay. I need to go drop my stuff off upstairs. When he's done with his shower, I'll let Lincoln know what's going on, and we'll try and think of a cover story."

"You think he can fool them?"

"If anyone's gonna think of something, he's probably our best shot. For now, head back to the couch. Give me a shout if one of the others tries to come upstairs."

"Okay."

"Good." She watched as her sister walked away, sighing heavily. "Lincoln, you're in for it now." She gulped down the rest of her soda, throwing the can in the trash before leaving the kitchen and heading up the stairs. She checked to see if the bathroom was still in use, which it was, so she headed into her room and dumped her bag next to her bed. 'Okay, what should he tell them? They'd probably believe if him if he said he had a crush… Nah, he won't go with that. Same goes for if he did something to get in trouble... Dang it! How is he so good at thinking of stuff like this?' Just then, she heard a door shutting, and a poke of her head outside of her room showed that the bathroom door was now open, and the room behind it empty. Looking the other way, she saw that her brother's bedroom door was closed, telling her that he was done with his shower. 'Now or never, Lynn. Blitz play, let's go.'

She walked over to the door and gave it a knock, not having to wait long before her brother answered it, now dressed in his pyjamas. "Lynn? What's up?"

"We need to talk about something, bro."

"What is it?"

Lynn opened her mouth, but was unable to speak before someone else could. "LINCOLN! LYNN! GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE! THE SHOW'S STARTING!"

"ONE SECOND!" Lincoln turned to Lynn and told her, "we can talk after dinner."

"Wait-" It was no use, as her brother had already began to head downstairs again, leaving the athlete to give a resigned sigh. "And that's full time." She slowly walked downstairs to join her siblings in the living room, sitting down next to her raven haired younger sister. Lucy turned to her, looking like she was going to say something, but one shake of Lynn's head silenced it before it could be said. Both knowing that there was nothing they could do, they both gave a glance over to the boy, who blissfully watched as the reality show started, unaware of what was to come.


	62. Ch 62- No More Secrets

Dinner was a peaceful affair in the Loud House, with everyone being more or less silent during the meal unless the parents asked something to the kids. While Lincoln was surprised that his sisters weren't talking over each other for once, he simply shrugged it off as them having nothing to say and enjoyed the meal his dad had prepared, unaware that Lynn was watching him from opposite the dining table. She wanted to tell him about what the others had done, but she knew that wouldn't really be possible, so she could only try and think about how she could possibly help him in the meeting.

Her thinking time was cut short when her mother stood from her seat. "Alright, kids," she spoke, getting everyone's attention. "If any of you have homework, make sure you get that done before you do anything else, okay?"

"Don't worry, mom," Lori replied, also standing up. "I made sure they already got any done."

"Oh! Well, thank you, Lori. In that case, you're all excused."

Lori smiled, turning to the rest of her siblings. "Everyone, sibling meeting, right now!"

The rest of the sisters all began to head upstairs, some less eagerly than others, while Lincoln simply blinked before following them. He saw that Leni was frowning as she trudged up the stairs. "Leni? Are you okay?" he asked. "You look upset."

"Oh, I'm…" She saw Lori giving her a stern look out of the corner of her eyes, forcing the second oldest sister to force a smile. "I'm fine, Linky. Just… feeling a little tired today."

"Oh… well, why don't you just lie down for a bit? I'm sure Lori will understand."

She bit her tongue, hating that her brother was being so sweet, even though she was lying to him. "I'll be alright, Linky. Don't worry about me." He gave her a nod, satisfied to let the issue go as he followed her into the room she shared with her older sister. Whilst her brother sat down next to Lucy on one of the beds, Leni went over to the high school senior. "Lori, I don't think this is such a good idea."

"What are you talking about? He's b-" She gave a very brief look to her brother before lowering her voice. "He's been hiding something from us for who knows how long? We can't just let this carry on."

"I know, but-"

"Leni, relax. It'll literally be fine."

She could see that there was no getting through to Lori, so she sighed. "I hope you're right."

Once Leni had sat down next to her brother, Lori took her shoe and banged it on her desk. "Alright. This sibling meeting is now in session. I only have one issue to raise, but before we get to that, does anyone else want to raise anything quickly?"

"Uh, yeah!" Lynn quickly blurted out, suddenly getting to her feet. "I, uh, I mean, yeah. I do."

Lori narrowed her eyes at the athlete. "Go on, then."

"Right. Uh… I was gonna ask… I mean, I was gonna say…" She stammered, trying to think of a way to stall. 'Dang it, why can't I think of anything?'

She could only stammer for so long before Lori's patience eventually wore out. "Alright, this is going nowhere. If you remember it, we'll come back to it." Lynn was going to argue, but Lori's sharp stare ended her resolve, prompting her to sit back down. "Thank you. Now, onto the reason why we're here." She turned to Lincoln, who looked surprised by the sudden attention he had received, noticing that the others had also turned to him. "Lincoln… do you think I'm a gossip?"

He blinked. "Um… what?"

"It's a pretty simple question, Lincoln. Do you think I'm a gossip?"

"Why would I think you're a gossip?"

"Well, do you think that Luna is a gossip? Or that Lisa is inconsiderate? Or that Luan is a joker?"

"Or that _I'm_ a gossip?" Lola added, to which Lynn rolled her eyes.

"Lola, you _are _a gossip," she reminded. "We all think that."

"Getting off topic!" Lori spoke somewhat loudly, returning everyone's attention to the sole boy. "Lincoln, we know for a fact that you think this about us. We've seen for ourselves that this is what you think about us."

Lincoln opened his mouth, trying to say something but struggling to understand why he was being accused of this. "You have photographed your opinions of your sororal units on your cellular device," Lisa explained. "To put it more simply, we've seen the pictures on your phone."

"Wait, what?!" His expression shifted from one of shock to one of anger. "What were you doing looking on my phone? You weren't putting a tracker on it, were you?!"

"Don't be ridiculous. If I needed to track you, I'd reinstall tracking chips in your necks. Besides, it wasn't me that found your phone."

"Then who did?" He saw the scientist point, following the direction of it to Lola. "Why am I not surprised?"

She rolled her eyes at the insinuation. "It's not like I wanted to, but I was looking for my ribbon stick, and you happened to leave your phone on. If you don't want people to look through your phone, don't leave your phone!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem to realise that you still invaded my privacy, technicality or not. If it was you, or any of the others, they would be just as angry at you as I am right now!" He stood up and walked over to her, his glare not leaving her. "I don't care why you were in her room, but I should tell mom and dad right now that you were looking through my phone."

"Hold it, Lincoln," Lori interrupted, stepping between him and the younger girl. "Before you do that, there's a more important issue we have to deal with." Giving a small frustrated sigh, he sat back down. "Lincoln, there's only one reason why anyone would make a list like this, and that's if they were hiding something. So, now that we know you're hiding something, it's time you came clean."

"Wh-why would I have something to hide?"

It was clear that the boy was now nervous, his mind now wondering about how to handle the situation, but he stood strong for the moment. Lori, however, showed no signs of relenting either. "Lincoln, you can't fool us. We know you're hiding something, and you are not leaving this room until you tell us."

"Geez, Lori, back off him!" Lynn insisted, but Lori shot her a dirty look. "He's not gonna talk if you keep barraging him like this."

"Lynn, do not-"

"Dude, she's got a point," Luna argued, hoping to avoid a conflict. She then looked to her brother and smiled at him. "Bro, this is what you were going to talk to me about yesterday, right?" He gave a small and hesitant nod. "Well, you can tell us. Come on, it's not gonna be anything that bad, right?"

He looked down at his lap. "I… I dunno…"

"Come on, Linc, just tell us!" Luan insisted.

"Yeah, I wanna know now!" Lana added.

"Well…" He looked up again and saw the range of expressions he was receiving- while Luna, Luan and Lana were all smiling, Lola and Lori were looking expectingly, while Lisa was looking blankly at him as always. He also saw that Leni was giving a gentle smile, showing that she was sympathising with him, and he noticed the same in the sliver of a smile Lucy was giving him. When he then looked towards Lynn, she simply gave a small shrug, so he sighed. "Look… I'll tell you, but… just know that I was going to tell you all eventually. I was just… trying to figure out how to tell you."

"Noted," Lisa stated, making him roll his eyes.

"Thanks." He shook his head, planning in his head how to tell them. "So, first of all, I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to tell you. I know I should have told you all sooner, but... well, I wasn't sure how. I mean, I wasn't sure-"

"Just tell us already!" Lola snapped, causing Lincoln to grit his teeth.

"Give me a second." Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he calmed himself down before preparing to explain. "Here's the deal. For the past two months, you girls think that I've been going to dodgeball practice, but the truth is… I've been doing something else instead."

"And that is?"

He gulped at Lori's question. 'This is it, Lincoln. No more hiding.' "Instead of dodgeball… I've been doing gymnastics." Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited to hear what they were going to do or say. He waited… and for a few seconds he heard nothing. 'Wait… they're not…'

"Oh! I get it!" Luan eventually spoke, giving a chuckle. "Good one, Linc."

The others, thinking that it was a joke, joined her in chuckling. Leni, Lynn and Lucy all became worried by this. Lynn was going to say something, but Lincoln beat her to it. "You think that's funny?" His voice was low, his hand in a fist on his lap. When he looked up at his sisters, his face was scrunched up, giving a somewhat angry glare. "You think that's a joke?"

"To be fair, Lincoln, you don't exactly have the grace for gymnastics," Lola argued. "Trust me, I should know."

"First of all, it's not rhythmic gymnastics. I do artistic gymnastics."

"There's a difference?" Lana asked, to which Lola rolled her eyes.

"There is a _big _difference. Artistic gymnastics uses vaults and beams and stuff, whereas rhythmic gymnastics is more elegant and utilises props, such as my ribbon stick."

"Wait, guys do that stuff?"

"Yes, Lana, guys do that stuff too," Luan explained. "I know a couple of people from clown school who do gymnastics and acrobatic stuff."

"Oh, really?" Lincoln interrupted. "Then why did it sound so funny when I said that I do that stuff?"

She shrank slightly at the sharpness of his tone. "Oh, uh… just… y'know… I wouldn't have expected…"

As the words failed to vocalise, her face showed her guilt as she realised what the words she had in mind truly meant. Lincoln didn't need time to understand that, his eyes narrowing. "Go on, Luan, say it. You wouldn't have expected me to be into it. That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

"Regardless of what choice of vocabulary she may or may not have planned to make," Lisa interrupted, adjusting her glasses, "it is a reasonable assumption. Given your regular hobbies and interests- video games, comic books and such- the idea of you pursuing gymnastics does have an anomalous quality to it." He didn't say anything in response, causing her to roll her eyes. "It means-"

"I know what it means, Lisa," he sharply cut in. "The only reason I didn't say anything was because I don't know how you can say that, given that you're a four year old PhD who enjoys hip hop music and Tai Chi. If you can enjoy those things, then why does it make my hobby so strange?"

"Okay, stop it, you two!" Lori ordered, slamming her shoe on the desk again. "Let's bring this back a moment. Lincoln, what you're saying is that, for the last two months, you've been lying to us about where you've been going and what you've been doing?"

"I mean, yes, but-"

"What the heck were you thinking?! You really thought you could keep it from us for this long, and we'd be okay with it?! Why would you-"

"You want to know why?!" She stepped back from how loudly her little brother yelled, her eyes widening at seeing the fiery look in his eyes. "Because I was worried, okay?! I was worried about how you were all going to react! I was worried that you were going to do what you do with my other hobbies and laugh, and you know what?! It turns out I was right!"

The girls watched as the boy stormed out of the room, not even caring to close the door, which meant they could easily hear his door slam a few seconds later. As soon as they did, Lynn turned to Lori with a scowl. "Nice one, Lori," she chided, sarcasm dripping in her words as she stood up. "Way to handle it."

The oldest sister opened her mouth to retort, but didn't get chance to say anything before the jock left the room, the goth girl following behind her. While she looked indignant at how Lynn had treated her, the others were displaying a mix of reactions to Lincoln's outburst- while Lisa was indifferent as ever, both twins were shocked, whereas Luan and Luna looked guilty. "So… what do we do now?"

Lori didn't answer the comedienne straight away, rubbing her temple with her thumb and her index finger as she let out a heavy sigh. Once she was calm enough, she looked at the others and told them, "let him calm down. He'll get over this, and we can talk it out or something. For now, I guess this meeting is adjourned." Not wanting to argue, the others all got up and began to leave the room as well. "Leni, this is your room too."

Stopping at the doorway, she turned and looked at her older sister, no anger in her eyes but disappointment instead. "I know, Lori, but I want to make sure that Linky's okay."

"Fine."

Leni nodded, then made her way across the landing towards her brother's room, where she saw Lily in front of the door. Giving a small smile, she leaned forward. "Hey there, Lily," she spoke softly, getting the infant's attention. "What are you doing?"

"'Inky sa'…"

Leni nodded. "Yeah, Linky's sad. Let's see if we can cheer him up." She picked Lily up and held her in one arm, using her other hand to knock on the door. "Linky? It's me. Can I come in?"

She waited for a few seconds, hoping that Lincoln would answer her, and when he didn't, she prepared to knock again, only to see the door open. The boy on the other side had a dejected expression when he looked at his sister. "Leni? What is it?"

"Me and Lily wanted to see if you were okay."

He looked at the one year old, who was grabbing at the air in front of her, signalling that she wanted him to hold her. He gave a small smile as he took her from their older sister, that smile growing when Lily chose to hug him. "Hey, Lily."

"'Inky sa'…"

He gave a small nod. "Yes, Linky was feeling sad, but he appreciates you trying to cheer him up." She looked up at her brother, who looked down kindly. "No more frowny face. See?" This got his youngest sister to smile, before she gave a small yawn. "Sounds like someone's getting sleepy."

"I'll go and put her down for a nap," Leni offered. "You can find me later if you need me."

"Thanks."

He handed Lily to Leni, the blonde taking her baby sister into her bedroom for a nap. Though Lincoln appreciated them checking on him and trying to cheer him up, he felt his mood lower as his mind played over what had happened. Sighing, he re-entered his room and tried to close his door, only to feel someone pushing to open it again. Letting them do so, he was surprised when he saw that it was his mother.

"We heard a door slamming," she said, her tone and expression showing a mix of seriousness and concern. "Is everything alright?"

He was going to say that he was fine, and that he just closed his door to loudly, but after the meeting, he couldn't think of any excuse. Instead, he shook his head and told her, "not exactly."

"I'm guessing something happened during the sibling meeting. What happened, sweetie?"

"Well… let's just say that I had to tell the girls the truth about me doing gymnastics, and… it didn't go well."

The mother frowned. She knew that Lincoln was worried about telling his sisters the truth, and more importantly, she knew _why _he was worried, so hearing her son say this meant she could only imagine what happened. "Oh, Lincoln…"

"I know, I know. I should've told them from the start, I brought this on myself."

"No, Lincoln. I mean, there is that, yes, but you had your reasons, and if they forced you to tell them, then there's another issue that needs to be discussed. Are the girls still in Lori's room?" The boy didn't answer her, save for a small shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I'm going to speak to Lori, see if I can find out what happened."

"Don't bother. It's not worth it."

She furrowed her brow. "Lincoln, are you sure?" He nodded, and though she wasn't sure if he was making the right decision, she gave a small smile and put her hand on his shoulder. "Alright, Lincoln. I won't do anything for now, but if things get worse, do let me know. I don't want the whole house to come apart because of this." He nodded once more, so she gave him a gentle hug that he didn't hesitate to return. "Okay, sweetie. I'll let you be by yourself for a while. Your father and I are downstairs if you need us."

"Okay." Once the matriarch let go and walked away, he closed the door and leaned against it. There was a small part of his mind that was regretting not letting his mother handle things, but this was outweighed by the part that just wanted to forget all of this had happened. He heard his phone ringing in his pocket, but he didn't want to speak to anyone at that time, so he put his phone on silent and placed it on his desk. Heading to his bed, he sat down and laid back so his head could hit the pillow, but the second his eyes shut, he heard someone else knocking on his door. He gave a tired groan before calling out, "who is it now?"

"It's just me, bro," he heard Lynn call back. "Can I come in?"

He gave a small huff as he sat up again. "Sure, just close the door behind you." He watched as the middle schooler entered the room, obeying his wish straight after. "What do you want, Lynn?"

"Figured you could use a pick me up." She showed her hand from behind her back, revealing two bars of dark chocolate in red wrappers. "Want one?"

"Isn't that your favourite chocolate?"

"Yeah, and I know it always helps me when I've had a lousy day. Come on, when else am I gonna offer you this, huh?"

He couldn't resist a slight chuckle, being all too familiar with his sisters' chocoholic tendencies. "Sure, thanks." Lynn sat down besides the boy, handing him one bar of chocolate whilst keeping the other. They both opened the wrappers and bit off a piece. While Lynn smiled at the familiar comfort it gave her, Lincoln was instead surprised. "Oh, wow!"

"Told ya, bro. It's dark, but with just enough sweetness. Plus, the lower sugar content means I don't have to worry about being unhealthy."

"I get what you mean." He finished the first piece before turning to her and asking, "so, that thing you wanted to talk about earlier… were you trying to warn me about… well, what happened?"

She gave a small nod, her eyes seemingly fixated on the chocolate bar. "Yeah… I only heard from Lucy when we got back, so I didn't have enough time to warn you or help you. My bad."

"No, it's fine. I don't know if it would have gone much differently either way."

"Heh, true." She ate another piece of chocolate before lowering the bar and looking at her brother. "Look, I heard what you and Mom talked about, and-"

"You think I was wrong about not letting her handle it."

The brunette shook her head. "No, you were absolutely right, Linc. This might sound strange, but now that they know the truth, they've got to realise that it means a lot to you. Sure, it took you two months to tell them, but that doesn't make up for how they reacted."

"You think? I'm not so sure. I kind of feel like, maybe, I deserved."

She shook her head again, this time more firmly. "No way, bro. So, just trust me on this. The ball's in their court, and when they've pulled their heads out of their butts, they'll apologise to you, and you can talk things out properly."

He took a moment to take in her words, then smiled. "Thanks, Lynn."

She smiled back and pulled him into a side hug. "What's a big sis for?" As he returned the hug, though, her smile lessened slightly. 'I just hope it's a matter of 'when',' she mentally noted, 'and not a matter of 'if'.'


	63. Ch 63- Cold Shoulder

**(A/N: before this chapter starts, I want to thank all of you who said that the last chapter worked well. I was worried about that chapter not working right, for two reasons: one being that there are a lot of stories on this site where Lincoln gets mad at his sisters for one reason or another, and I didn't want it to feel cliché, and the other being that it was quite a pivotal chapter in this story, which should become clear as the story progresses.**

**Also, quick disclaimer: I've said this about gymnastics and fashion, and I'll say it again for this chapter: I don't know much about cooking, so anything about that here is all from online research. I would not advise using my recipe.**

**That's all I have to say, so once again, thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

The sun was not yet up in the sky, the darkness not yet lifted from the night sky yet lighter than it was at twilight. In the Loud House, everything was silent until the end of the sixth hour struck, when an alarm went off in the room of the sole son of the family of thirteen. His eyes struggling to wake up at first, the boy gave a groan as he threw the covers off, swinging his legs over the edge bed and sitting up. 'Guess I'd better get up,' he thought to himself, 'before I wake the others up.' Standing up, he walked over to his desk and turned off the alarm on his phone, letting out a yawn. 'Good thing I went to bed an hour early. Guess I'll use the bathroom while I have it to myself.'

Leaving his bedroom, he walked quietly across the landing towards the empty bathroom. He didn't wait or look to see if anyone had heard him, entering the room and closing the door behind him. He walked over to the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror- even though he had gone to bed early to make up for waking up early, he hadn't slept too easily, and it showed in his face. His eyes looked tired, not alarmingly so but enough to be noticeable, and he didn't have the energy to smile. He rubbed his cheek slightly, breathing deeply out through his nose. "Guess it's going to be that kind of day," he said to himself.

Not wanting to risk his sisters waking up and yelling at him for taking too long, he began to do his morning routine, first brushing his teeth then washing his face, and before he left, he remembered how bad the line to the bathroom could be, so he used the toilet while he was there, washing his hands afterwards. Now done in there, he decided to head back to his room, where he quietly closed the door before taking his time with getting changed. It didn't take him too long to do so, and once he was, he grabbed his phone from his desk. He hadn't used the device all night, so as well as the time, he saw the missed call notification from the evening before, making him frown again.

"I probably should've messaged them back," he said to himself, regretting his choice to simply ignore it. "Hopefully, they're not too mad at me. I'll apologise when I see them."

Making a note of that in his mind, he decided that he didn't have anything to do for a while, so he grabbed his school bag and took it with him downstairs, sitting at the dining room table and taking his math book out so he could do some revision. He had heard that Mrs Johnson was planning a test for some point that week, and he didn't want to mess it up, so it was better to be safe than sorry. As he began reading over the notes he had made during his lessons, checking that he knew how to do them, he didn't hear a door opening. Coming out of his and his wife's bedroom, Lynn Sr gave a small yawn as he quietly closed the door door behind him. When he began to walk towards the dining room, he was slightly awakened by the sight of his son sat at the dining room table.

"Lincoln?" he tiredly said, getting the boy's attention. "What are you doing up?"

"Morning, dad," he replied. "Sorry for waking you up."

"No, don't be silly, you didn't wake me up. I'm surprised you're up, though. Your mom normally gets you and the girls up at seven, and it's not even quarter past six yet."

"I know, but… I figured I'd walk to school today, so I went to bed early and set my alarm for six."

The father nodded. He sensed the slightly somber tone in his son's voice when he said this, and he figured that it was due to what had unfolded the previous day. Deciding it was better to avoid bringing that up, he gave a small sigh. "I see. Well, make sure you take your coat when you do. It's supposed to be getting cold this week."

"Okay. So, um… how come you're up?"

"Oh, well, I need to get started on things for the restaurant." He saw that his son gave him a raised eyebrow, so he smiled and explained. "Basically, I don't have time to make everything at the restaurant, so I prepare what I can at home. Sauces, dough, that kind of thing. It helps, especially during rush hour."

Lincoln nodded, now understanding what his father was saying. "Oh."

"Hey, if you're not too busy, why don't you help me? It'd help me get more done, and we can hang out before you head to school. What do you say?"

"Well…" He gave a look at his book, the long multiplication now seeming much more boring, so he gave his father a smile too. "Sure. I'd like that."

"Great! Come on, then, let's get started!" The boy stood and followed the chef into the kitchen, where they put on the light. After putting on aprons and washing their hands, Lynn Sr pulled out a couple of bowls, chopping boards and pots, as well as some other ingredients. "Okay, first thing we're gonna make is some marinara sauce. I have some leftover from last week, but this'll help me to keep stocked for a good few days."

"Sounds simple enough. Where do we start?"

"Well, we need to prepare the vegetables. You start dicing the carrots, and I'll do the onions. Better I start crying than you." Lincoln gave a small chuckle before doing as his father asked. He grabbed a carrot and placed it on one of the chopping boards, but before he could grab the knife to dice it, his father held his hand out to stop him. "Hang on a second, kiddo. You need to peel it first."

"Oh. Right, my bad."

"Don't worry, Lincoln. Trust me, it's better to get rid of the skin." He handed his son the peeler, and watched as the boy used it to remove the outer layer from the vegetable. "There you go, you've got it. Alright, once you've done that, use the knife to remove the top of the carrot, then cut the carrot into thirds. A little time saver."

Lincoln nodded, trading the peeler for the knife and completing his father's instructions. "So, now I dice it?" When his father gave him a thumbs up, he nodded again, and focused on the task at hand. Starting with the smallest third, so he didn't waste as much carrot if he got it wrong, he cut it length ways, then cut those thinner strips sideways into smaller chunks. "Like that?"

"Just like that, kiddo! You've got it!" This brought a small smile to Lincoln's face, enough for him to continue dicing the carrot whilst the father diced the onion. They did this for a few more veg, before Lynn told his son to put it in the pot. "Alright, while I start cooking these, can you peel and chop the tomatoes?"

"Uh… sure. How do I peel tomatoes?"

"Ah! Good question. Well, you can cut them and then peel them, but I find it's best to cut an x on the bottom and use that to peel them. Don't cut too deeply, just enough to break through the skin. I buy large tomatoes to save time, so do that for about five of them, and I should have enough."

"Okay." Lincoln grabbed one of the tomatoes, taking the knife and carefully slicing an x into the bottom of it, then put the knife down and gently peeled away the skink revealing the fruit's flesh beneath. "Woah… that's weirdly satisfying."

Lynn couldn't help but chuckle. "I know exactly what you mean, Lincoln. It's one of the many reasons I love cooking. That, and taste testing." This got the boy to chuckle as well, making his father happy. "Glad to hear you're enjoying this."

"Yeah, I'm glad you asked me to do this. I needed something to enjoy after…"

Hearing the boy's voice trail off, the man looked at the white haired boy, seeing his smile fade to a frown, which made his own smile falter. "You okay, Lincoln?" He hesitantly nodded at the question. "Still thinking about yesterday, huh?" Once again, the boy nodded, so he put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Lincoln… I know that things didn't go well yesterday, but they will get better. It's just gonna take a little time, okay? The important thing is, you told them the truth, and your sisters love you. They're just trying to take this all in. Once they have, they'll try and speak to you, and I know you'll find a way to work this out. Just give it time, and when they do, give them a chance."

"Okay, dad. I will."

"That's my boy. Now, come on. Let's keep cooking, alright?"

* * *

In another part of Royal Woods, as the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, Jen Rosato was making her way downstairs, dressed and ready for the day ahead. She headed into the kitchen, where she saw her younger sister sat at the kitchen table, eating her bowl of cereal, whilst their mother was stood against the counter, drinking coffee while waiting on something to cook. "Morning."

"Good morning, Jen," her mother greeted first as the high schooler sat opposite the elementary schooler. Jen waiter for Jordan to respond, but she didn't reply, simply staring at her cereal.

"Hello! Earth to Jordan! You in there?" The girl eventually looked up and gave a small nod as acknowledgement before returning her focus to eating. This concerned the older sister, who shot a look to her mother that was returned in kind, before she asked her younger sister, "what's the matter? You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" her mother asked, walking over and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're quiet this morning." She placed a hand on the girl's forehead. "You don't feel warm, and you don't look sick. Come on, honey, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep too great."

Jen managed to catch Jordan's eyes for a second, and though it was brief, she got an idea of what it was. "Oh, I get it. You're having boy trouble, aren't you?" Jordan looked up again, time giving her sister a stink eyed glare. "Come on, sis, I've been through that before, and I've no doubt Mom has too."

The woman nodded, putting her coffee mug down on the table. "She's right. When it comes to boys-"

"It's not about boys!" Both Jen and her mother widened their eyes at the loudness of her yell, which made Jordan sigh. "Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Rather than be mad, Mrs Rosato sat down and pulled her daughter into a side hug. "Jordan, we're just worried about you, okay? We don't want you to be upset or hurt by anything."

"Yeah, sis," Jen agreed. "Sure, you and I fight from time to time, but I still love you. Come on, you can tell us."

Jordan was going to insist again that she was fine, but she knew what her family was like, and that meant that they weren't likely to let it go, so she placed her spoon in her bowl and sighed. "Okay, fine. It's about Lincoln."

"I thought that you said-"

"It's not like that," she added before Jen could suggest anything. "Me and him are friends, that's all… or, at least, I thought we were."

Jen's eyebrows rose upwards, both out of intrigue and worry. "Did he say something to you?"

"Nope. Literally the opposite. I tried to call him yesterday after dinner, because I wanted to ask him something about our geography project, but I think he cancelled the call, and when I tried again, I couldn't get through. It's almost like he was trying to avoid me."

"But why would he want to do that?" Mrs Rosato asked. "You two seemed happy when I picked you up from gymnastics yesterday. You didn't have a falling out recently, did you?"

"No, and I didn't think that he was mad at me."

"Well, what about on Saturday? You said the two of you had a good time at… wherever it was. Did he seem off or anything?"

"No. He seemed happy enough. All I know is he's… walking past our house!"

Both her older sister and mother were confused by how her voice rose when she said this, but one look out of the window explained everything. Though the window was slightly fogged up by the cold air, they saw the Loud boy walking past, his hands in the pockets of his red winter coat and his head slightly hung down. "Huh," Jen muttered. "He doesn't normally walk this way… I don't think."

"I think Jordan would have mentioned if he did," Mrs Rosato agreed. "It does look like something's on his mind, though." She was going to ask Jordan something, but she heard the sound of a spoon hitting a bowl, and turned to see that the youngest girl had left the kitchen, having scarfed down her food. "Jordan?"

"I'm heading to school!" they heard the girl call from elsewhere in the house. "I'll see you when I get home! Bye!"

Before either of them could call out, they heard the front door close, so they turned and looked out the window again, this time seeing her jog past. "Well, that was… interesting."

"She'll figure this out," the mother reassured her daughter. "Now, you'd better hurry up. You need to be heading to school too, Jeniffer."

"Yes, Mom."

* * *

Jordan jogged along, not letting her brain scold her for leaving her coat as she felt the cold winds against her bare arms. She saw the boy up ahead, though he had yet to notice her. "Lincoln!" She called, hoping to get his attention, but he didn't even look up. "Lincoln!" Again, she received no response, but she didn't slow down. 'Why is he ignoring me? Something's not right.' She picked up her speed a little, closing the distance between them until she was able to place a hand on his shoulder, startling him slight. "Lincoln, what are you doing round here?"

She watched as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and removed the two headphone earbuds from his ears, putting them back in his pocket. "Hey, Jordan," he finally greeted. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you, I was listening to something on my phone."

"It's fine. I was calling out to you, but at least you weren't ignoring me. Still, what are you doing here? You live closer to school than you do to my house."

"I know. I was walking to school today, but I don't really have much I can do when I get to school, so I figured I'd take a longer route."

"Well, why didn't you just get a ride with your sisters like you normally do?"

"Oh, well… I… didn't really want to today."

She noticed that his eyelids drooped a little as he said this, his brow furrowing slightly, and there was a slightly melancholy hint in his words. "Lincoln… is everything okay?"

"Not… not exactly."

She sensed the apprehension in his voice, so she put a hand on his shoulder. "Lincoln, you can talk to me. You know that, right?"

"I know, but…"

"Lincoln. Please. What's wrong?"

He thought about it for a few seconds, the girl's serious yet caring gaze not leaving his uncertain one, so he sighed. "Well… my sisters found out my secret, and… well, at first they laughed at me about it."

Jordan gasped, a hand cupping her mouth. "They didn't!"

"Afraid so. They thought it was a joke, and when they realised I was being serious, Lori got mad at me for holding it from them for so long." He saw her expression change from one of shock to one of pity, but he shook his head while looking down. "It's my fault. You were right, I shouldn't have held it from them."

"Lincoln, no! That doesn't make what they did okay!"

"Wish I was as certain as you are."

"Lincoln… Lincoln, look at me." Though he felt ashamed, he looked up and met her gaze again. "How they reacted is not your fault. If they can't see that, then that's their problem. Give them time, and hopefully they'll see reason. In the meantime, if you need to talk about anything, just find or call me. I'm here if you need me."

He stood there, silent for a few seconds, before he eventually gave a small smile. "I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'm glad you're my friend. Thanks, Jordan."

Her heart melted at his words. "That's sweet of you to say, Lincoln, but I'm glad that I'm your friend, and that you're my friend too."

"Thanks." His smile then faded as he remembered something else, his hand lifting to rub the back of his head. "Oh! Uh, sorry about not answering your call last night."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, you had other things on your mind." She was going to say something else after this, before a sudden change in the wind blew against her, making her shiver and hug herself. "Guess I should have grabbed a coat." She didn't hear anything from Lincoln, and a few seconds later, she was surprised when Lincoln had taken his coat and put it around her shoulders. She looked at him with surprise, being met with a warm smile in spite of his recent events, and she couldn't help but blush as she smiled back. "Thank you."

"No problem. Come on, we'd better get going."

* * *

"LINCOLN! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!" Lori yelled from the living room, the other sisters waiting by the front door. "WE'RE LEAVING IN ONE MINUTE!"

"Seriously, Lori?" Lynn asked, raising an eyebrow. "You really think that's necessary?"

The eldest sister huffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, since you two are so chummy, you can go get him!"

"You need to get over yourself." Lori didn't change her glare, making Lynn sigh. "Fine, I'll go get him." She headed upstairs and towards her brother's bedroom, giving a knock on the door. "Come on, bro, you've gotta go to school too. You don't wanna be late, right?" Not hearing an answer, she pushed the door open and was prepared to say something, but she saw two things that were off: the room was empty, and there was a note on the boy's desk. She walked over to the note, picking it up and reading it, her eyes steeling a little. 'Okay, bro.'

Taking the note with her, she left the room and went back downstairs, where Lori was looking at her expectantly. "Well? Where is the little tw-" Lynn cut her off, forcefully pushing the note into her chest. Shocked by the sudden gesture, she grabbed the note and was going to say something, but Lynn simply walked out of the house, likely towards Vanzilla. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't need to when she heard Leni say something.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing at the note.

Lori held the note out in front of her and began to read it out loud. "'Decided to walk to school. Don't wait for me. Lincoln.'" She gave a small growl, scrunching up the ball and dumping it on the coffee table. "Could've done with knowing that earlier. Alright, everyone in Vanzilla. Lincoln's already left, so there's no point us waiting."

"About time," Lisa muttered as she and the rest of her sisters made their way towards the family van, ready to head to school.


	64. Ch 64- Mixed Feelings

**Chapter 64- Mixed Feelings. **

Lunchtime rolled around at Royal Woods High School, and the teenagers were all eager for the respite that it brought after a long morning of lessons. The cafeteria quickly filled with students from each grade, many queuing up to get their hands on whatever the school was serving that seemed most edible, while others made their way straight to grab some seats and sit down with their packed lunches. The sounds of eating and chatter quickly filled the room as everyone sat down and relaxed. At one table, Leni was sat with her friends, listening to her friends talk about what they had been up to over the weekend while she quietly ate.

Eventually, one of them- a brunette with a light blue turtleneck, a green skirt with white polka dots and a green belt, and pearl earrings- looked to the Loud girl and noticed that there was no smile on her face. "Leni?" she asked, drawing all eyes to the blonde. "You okay?"

"Yeah, you haven't said a word," Jackie agreed. "What's up?"

Leni gave a small smile, appreciating her friends looking out for her. "I'm fine, girls, don't worry about me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just thinking about something."

Jen noticed the sad look in her friend's eyes, and frowned. "Does this have anything to do with Lincoln?"

Leni's eyes shot open wide in shock. "How did you guess?!"

"I saw him walking past my house this morning. He looked like he was thinking about something, and I know you two are close, so I thought it might be something to do with that."

"Is he okay?" Jessie asked. "I only met him at the fashion show, but he seemed like a sweet kid."

"Wasn't he the one who saved your sister, Jen? When she tripped on the catwalk?"

"Yeah, that was him, Mandee," Jen confirmed.

"Those two looked so cute together!"

Some of the girls giggled in agreement, with Jen also giving a chuckle. "You're not wrong." She returned her attention to the blonde. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. What's up with Lincoln?"

"I… I don't know if I should say."

"Oh, come on, you can tell us! I swear, we won't tell anyone else about it. Right, girls?"

Leni would have argued, but hearing the positive response from her friends, she relented. "Well… okay. You know how Linky started doing gymnastics?"

"Doesn't Jordan also do gymnastics, Jen?" Jessie's question was met with stern glares, causing her to blush a little as she shrunk in her seat, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry…"

Jen rolled her eyes, ignoring the question and looking back to the Loud girl. "Yeah, I know about that. He's been doing it for a couple of months now, right?"

"Right. Well, yesterday, he told the others about it."

"Why didn't he tell them when he first started?" Jackie asked, looking slightly confused.

"He was worried about how they were going to react."

"But, surely they would support him, right?" Mandee then asked.

"Well, yeah… at least, I thought they would."

Jen picked up on how her voice trailed off. "What did they do?"

Leni looked slightly worried, but she knew that her friends would be able to tell if she was lying. "Well… at first, they kind of… laughed."

"WHAT?!" Her friends were equally shocked and appalled by this news.

"Why would they laugh at him?!"

Leni flinched slightly from how Jessie raised her voice, looking around to see if the students sat at the nearby tables were now listening in or not, relieved to know it was the latter. "Well, they weren't doing it to be mean, I don't think. Luan started laughing first, but she said she thought he was telling a joke."

Jackie scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing that to get the others to laugh too. We all know what she can be like on April Fools Day."

The others all shuddered and nodded, seeing flashbacks in their mind of previous pranks from the comedienne. Even Leni frowned more at the thought. "She doesn't prank like this, though. She uses props and thingies, but not feelings."

"So, what happened after they laughed?" Jen asked. "Something tells me there's more to it than that."

Leni nodded. "Linky kind of got mad at first, but then Lori asked him why he'd kept it secret, and he told her about how he was worried about their reactions, before he left the meeting."

"Wow… poor kid," one of the other girls sighed, to which the other girls nodded or said "yeah" at.

"Have your sisters tried to make up with him?" Mandee asked.

"No," Leni answered. "Lynn and Lucy already knew, so I think they've spoken to him, but Lori told the others to give him time to cool off. I think that might have been the right choice, because some of them seemed a little uncertain."

"Shame your older sister doesn't feel the same," the other raven haired girl argued, staring at a table further away from them. Following her gaze, the other girls saw that the table she was looking at was occupied by none other than Lori Loud and her other friends, the high school seniors all smiling, chatting and laughing. "It looks like your brother is the last thing on her mind."

"Maybe," the Loud muttered, not wanting to believe that her sister was as ignorant as her friend was suggesting. "Still, I know that she cares for Linky. She probably just doesn't think it's the right time to think about it."

"I'd like to see what she thinks," Jen growled, getting to her feet. She stepped around the table, but before she could advance to give Lori a piece of her mind, Leni had gotten up and stepped in front of her friend, lifting her hands to hold her back. "Leni? What are you doing?"

"Please don't yell at her!" she pleaded. "I don't want to make things worse."

"Leni, if your brother is as upset as you said he was, and she's acting like nothing's wrong, then someone needs to go and talk some sense to her!"

"I hear you, but I don't want to make things more uncomfortable! I'll try and talk to Lori at home, but please don't make a scene. Not now, not here. Please."

Jen wanted to argue further, astounded by how Leni was almost defending her sister, but one look at the begging face of her best friend reminded her who she was talking to. Leni hated conflict, and tried to avoid it where possible, and she always had a way of seeing the good in people in spite of any drama or actions they may have been involved in. Seeing Leni's side of things, she sighed. "Alright. This is a family matter, so I won't interfere. Just promise me you'll talk to her when you can."

Leni smiled again, pulling Jen into a hug. "I promise."

Jen slowly returned the hug, smiling at her friend before sending a harsh glare to Lori, who caught sight of it and returned a confused expression. "What's her problem?" She said to herself, though Whitney heard it and looked over at the high school juniors.

"Looks like Leni's friend isn't too happy with you, Lori," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Dana added, "I saw another of them staring at us, but I just thought they were looking at someone else."

"Why would her friends be mad at you, though?" Carol asked. "Did something happen between you and Leni?"

"Nope. It's probably nothing, so just ignore them." While her friends were content to do so, Lori couldn't help but quickly think, 'I may have to talk to Leni later. See what she's been saying.'

* * *

Not all of the students were in the cafeteria at that time. Elsewhere in the school, Luna was standing in the band room with her friends, currently practicing some songs they were fond of. Mazzy was beating away at the drums, Sully was jamming on the keyboard, Sam was playing her guitar while singing, and Luna was playing her guitar as well. She had sung the first song, but didn't have the same energy in her voice, so she suggested that Sam should take over on the mic. Her girlfriend was worried about her, but after Luna told her that she was okay, she willingly took over on vocals.

After about thirty minutes of practicing, they finished another song, though Sam could still hear music playing. One look over her shoulder allowed her to see Luna looming down at her guitar, her fingers still strumming away. "Luna! The song's over!" she called to the brunette, though it went unheard by the Loud girl. "LUNA!"

This time, the yell got her attention, a doe eyed look on her face as she stopped playing and looked up at the blonde. "What happened?" she asked, slightly bewildered.

"The song's done, Luna," Sully let her know.

"You okay, Lunes?" Sam asked, her earlier concern. "You spaced out there."

"Oh, totally. Guess I got carried away with the tunes."

"I dunno, dude," Mazzy argued. "You've been acting kinda funky all day."

"Yeah, like in Mrs F's math class," Sully pointed out. "You were actually doing the work for once."

The boy chuckled at his joke, to which Sam shot him a stink eyed glare. "Sully, shut up." She looked back at Luna, a softness in her eyes. "Luna. You know you can talk to me if something's up. I _know _you know that. So, please. What's wrong?"

Luna gave a small smile back. "Dude, I'm fine, really. I've just got some stuff on my mind at the moment. It's nothing serious, really, just some stupid stuff at home." She saw that Sam still wasn't fully convinced, so she picked up her smile a bit. "I appreciate you looking out for me, Babe, but I'm really okay. I'm gonna go use the bathroom real quick, and when I get back, we'll keep on jamming. K?"

Sam finally gave a bit of a smile, pulling the pixie haired girl into a hug. "Okay, Babe."

"Be right back." Luna let go of Sam and left the band room, her smile disappearing as she walked through the hallways towards the bathroom. When she eventually got there, she checked if it was empty before staring at the mirror, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "Well, aren't you a jerk?"

She hung her head, shaking it slightly. She felt horrible for lying to Sam, the one person she knew that the Loud would say might know her better than her own family, but she didn't want to bother her with this issue, and even less did she want to find out how she would react. 'After school, maybe I can figure this out. I just need to think about what I'm gonna say.'

As she thought alone, she heard the door open and saw her roommate enter, the freshman having a similar frown on her face as she did. "Oh. Hey, Luna."

"Hey, Luan," she greeted back as her sister walked over. "You okay, bruh?"

"N-not… not really."

"Still thinking about yesterday?" Not able to find any other words for it, the younger girl gave a nod, which the older girl returned in kind. "Me too."

"I was gonna try and talk to Lincoln before school, but… well, you saw how that worked out."

Luna sighed, nodding again. "I get it, dudette. I wanna make up, but I don't wanna do it the wrong way. I feel guilty enough that it happened in the first place, I don't want to make things worse for little bro."

Luan looked down at her hands, her thumbs twiddling together. "Have you… told anyone about what happened?"

This caused the rocker to put a hand on the back of her neck, her frown deepening. "Honestly… I'm worried about what they'll say if I do. I haven:t even told Sam, and I hate that I'm hiding it from her. She can tell something's up, and she's been so sweet with checking if I'm alright… I don't want to lose her, and I'm scared that she'll hate me for this. I'm already mad at myself, I couldn't take it if she was too."

"I get it. I haven't told Benny either. He could tell I was upset in drama class, and he wanted me to talk about what was up, but I just told him I was fine, and that I was method acting. I feel horrible for lying to him." She moved her hand to rub the back of her other arm. "Still, I can't even bear to think what he'll say if I do tell him."

"I feel you…" She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Some sisters we turned out to be."

Luan sniffled. "Uh Huh…"

Hearing her sister sound like she was going to start crying, she wrapped her arm around her, inviting her to embrace her. "Come on, sis. We'll figure this out."

Luan nodded, holding the hug for a few seconds before they heard the bathroom door open. They let go and turned to see that it was Sam who had entered. "Oh, uh, sorry," the blonde teen apologised. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nah, we were just hugging it out," Luna quickly answered. "We're cool."

"Yeah," Luan added, "we're fine. She was just talking with me about something, but we're all good now." She turned to Luna. "I better go before Benny wonders where I am. I'll see you after school."

"Sure thing, sis." After Luan made her way past Sam and left the bathroom, Luna turned to her girlfriend. "Was I taking too long? I was just heading back when Luan came, and we were-"

She was cut off when the blonde girl embraced her, pressing their cheeks together gently. "It's okay, I get it."

"You… you do?"

"Of course! Now I know why you've been so quiet all day. You've been worried about your family."

"Uh… something like that."

Sam pulled out of the hug slightly, keeping her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "Luna, relax. I get why you didn't tell me, I'm not mad. Honestly, it's adorable how worked up you've gotten with this." She saw the way her freckled cheeks lit up a bit at being called adorable, which made Sam giggle. "Seriously, though. If it was about your sister, all you had to do was tell me, and I would have understood."

Luna nodded, feeling a pit form in her stomach. "Sorry, dude."

"Don't be sorry. Come here." She pulled her towards her, wrapping her arms around her again. "You're a really good sister, Luna."

That pit in her stomach grew larger as she reluctantly returned the affection. "Th-thanks, Sam."

* * *

A few hours had passed, and in the elementary school, the school bell was ringing signalling the end of the day. Lucy looked up from her book at her teacher, a woman in her early thirties with short black hair and glasses, wearing a white button shirt and red cardigan, grey trousers and black shoes with grey socks. "Alright, class," the teacher declared. "That's it for today. Have a good day, and I will see you all tomorrow."

Most of the third graders eagerly packed up their things and made their way into the quickly filling hallway. Lucy, while not acting particularly slowly, joined her classmates in leaving the room, packing her books and pencils away in her bag before going to her locker. As she pulled some of her belongings out of her locker, she sensed a presence behind her. "Hello, Haiku," she greeted, turning to see her friend stood behind her.

"Hello, Lucy," the older goth greeted in kind. "How has your day been?"

"Same as usual. What about you?"

"Just dark enough to keep me interested." Lucy nodded, understanding perfectly what she meant. "I was wondering if you would be interested in joining me for a brief journey to the cemetery? I heard a rumour that some of the spirits were planning a gathering this afternoon, I thought I would try and communicate with them."

"Weren't you kicked out of the cemetery last time you tried that?"

"No, I was instructed to leave due to the filming of a music video there." She shook her head, a look of disgust on her face. "It wasn't even a death metal song."

"Ah, of course. As tempting as that sounds, I must decline. I promised Fangs I would make him a necklace when I got home. I think he might have an admirer."

"How sweet. Well, I'll let you know if I manage to make contact. Enjoy your activities."

"You too." Haiku walked away, fading seamlessly into the crowd of students eager to go home. Lucy closed her locker and began to make her way towards the exit, when she caught sight of her brother talking with Jordan and her friends, so she made her way towards him. "Hey, Lincoln."

He jumped slightly, though not as much as the girls all did. He gave Lucy a small frown. "Lucy, did you have to do that?"

"Sigh. It's not my fault I don't get noticed." She then turned to the girls and told them, "sorry."

"It's… it's fine, Lucy," Jordan replied, her and the girls giving her a small smile.

"Hey," Lincoln then said to the girls, "I'll catch up with you in a moment. Okay?" Jordan nodded, looking at her friends and signalling for them to leave. Once they had walked away a little bit, Lincoln bent down to his sister's height. "Listen, I'm gonna be a little late getting home today. Jordan and the others asked me to walk with them, so I'll probably be back by about fourish. Can you tell Lori I'm walking home, and ask Lynn if she can get our workout ready for when I get back?"

"Uh… sure? Do you want me to mention-"

Lincoln instinctively shook his head. "No. I know what they'll be like if you do, and they don't really need to know."

Lucy nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks, Lucy." He smiled and gave her a quick hug before letting go. "I'll see you at home."

"Okay." So, whilst Lincoln followed after his friends, Lucy left the school, stopping near the front steps. She didn't have to wait too long before she saw the twins exit the front doors of the school. Both looked as they usually did at the end of a school day— relieved that school was over and that they could go home— though Lana looked a little less so than Lola. Shortly after them, Lisa came out with her typically stoic expression. "How was your day?"

"The usual," Lola answered, while Lana gave a small nod, which Lucy took note of.

'She's preoccupied with something,' she quickly thought. 'I think I know what, though I doubt she wants to talk to me about it.'

She looked down the road and saw Vanzilla pulling up their way, the five older sisters all inside. "Alright, get in," Lori quickly told them as the van stopped. "Where's Lincoln?"

"He said he was going to walk home," Lucy quickly answered, which she saw made Luna disappointed.

"Oh, really?" the rocker asked. "I was hoping to talk with him before we got home."

"He said he would be back by about four."

"Guess I can try and talk to him then."

"Okay, so the twerp's walking, fine!" Lori cut in. "Unless you four are walking too, get in!"

The elementary schoolers rolled their eyes as they entered the van, not wanting to make Lori more mad than she already was. As Lucy buckled herself in next to Lynn, the jock turned and asked, "so, how come Lincoln's walking?"

"He didn't say. He just asked me to tell you to set up for your workout when he gets back."

"Really? Huh. Yeah, I can do that." Once she felt the van begin to drive away, she started staring out of the window, not really interested in the chatter from the other girls. At one point, she caught sight of her brother walking along the sidewalk with his friends, but she chose not to say anything, the others either not noticing or not saying anything. 'See you at home, bro.'


	65. Ch 65- Regrouping

The Loud sisters were gathered once again in Lori's bedroom, having been called there by the eldest of the ten girls. They were chatting amongst themselves, some wondering why they had been gathered there, some complaining about how they had other things to do while some sat quietly. Whatever they chose to talk about, it came to an end when they heard Lori bang her shoe on her desk, gaining the attention of her siblings. "Alright, I know that none of you want to be here right now," she declared, "but this sister meeting is now in session."

"This had better be important," Lola whined, her arms crossed over her chest. "I have very important pageant practice to do."

"Believe me, Lola, whatever you have to do is about as important as what the rest of us have to do." Lola grumbled to herself, but stayed silent. "Now, I'm going to ask that Lisa explain the situation." She turned to the four-year-old. "Lisa, make it quick and simple. No science talk, just put it plain and simple. The floor is yours."

"Appreciated, elder sibling." Lori walked to the side, allowing Lisa to step on the desk chair and face the others. "Two days ago, Lola was found with Lincoln's phone in her possession. After seeing the images on said device, we arranged for a sibling meeting to make Lincoln reveal the secret we deduced that he was holding."

"We already know all this, Lisa," Lynn cut in, an unimpressed look on her face. "If you're just going to recap all that, there's no point in us being here."

This led to the other sisters starting an uproar as they agreed with her statement. Lori, giving a small growl, took her shoe and banged it on her desk again, once more silencing the girls. "Bear with her," she stressed though gritted teeth. "Lisa, continue."

She nodded, before resuming her explanation. "As I was recalling, once our Male sibling returned from what we believed to be dodgeball practice, we held a sibling meeting. We informed him of Lola finding his phone, to which he was visibly irritated. Before he could inform our parents of this, we requested that he divulge his secret, which was that he has been doing gymnastics instead of dodgeball. After our initial reaction, Lori asked as to why he decided to hold this secret, which led to his aggressive response, claiming his fears with regard to our reaction, before storming out. Under Lori's advice, we left Lincoln to his own devices, with plans to speak to him at a later time. New evidence has shown that his opinion of the event has not improved, and as such, Lori has called for this meeting."

"Thank you, Lisa." The brunette nodded, stepping down from the chair and walking over to the others whilst Lori took the floor. "So, since we got Lincoln to tell us the truth and stop hiding that from us, he's been going to school early to avoid us, and apart from sitting with us at dinner, he's been avoiding us." She then looked to Lola. "A couple of you tried to speak to him. Lola, you were first, correct?"

"Yes," she answered. "Lana wanted to talk to him, but she was scared about how he was going to react, so I said that I would speak to him first, just to show that she was being silly. Sadly… well, it turns out that she wasn't."

* * *

_Lola knocked on Lincoln's door. "Who is it?" she heard him call out, so she pushed on the door, opening it enough for her to step in and see that her brother was sat at his desk, his school book open and a pen in his hand. He turned his head so he could face her, not showing any particular emotion on his face at her presence. "What do you want, Lola?"_

"_Is that any way to speak to your favourite sister?"_

_He deadened his stare at the girl. "Lola, you know I don't have a favourite sister."_

_She scoffed. "Admirable, but you don't need to keep up the act, Linky. The others aren't listening, I would know if they were and-"_

"_What do you want, Lola?"_

"_Wow! Rude, much?" She rolled her eyes, not noticing the shake of his head her brother gave. "Well, I have decided to invite you to a tea party. After what happened yesterday, I figured we could talk and you could explain why you chose to hide this for so long."_

"_Lola, in case you weren't listening yesterday, I told you all why I didn't tell you."_

"_But, Lincoln-"_

"_No buts, Lola!" He put his pen down with force, making her jump slightly as he turned in his chair, now facing her directly. "I didn't tell you all straight away, because I was worried about how you would all react, and you all reacted the way I was scared you would! The first thing any of you thought to do was laugh at me!"_

"_Lincoln, it's not-"_

"_And you know what, Lola? Even though I should have, I've not told Mom and Dad about how you were looking through my phone. Whether it was on or not, you had no right to do that, let alone show the others! You would be in so much trouble if I told them!"_

"_L-Lincoln, I-"_

"_So, do me a favour, Lola. Next time I'm not around, don't go in my room at all. If I found out you have, I'm not keeping that secret for you." He turned back to face his desk again, picking up his pen. "Now, I need to get this work done, so if you don't mind, I need to be alone."_

_Lola was not usually one to walk away silent, but in that moment, she had no words, so she simply nodded, backing out of the room and closing the door, leaving the boy to his own devices._

"**After that, I went back to Lana and told her what happened. We haven't had the chance to speak to him since."**

* * *

"**Things weren't any better for me, dudes. I tried to speak to him before he called it a night."**

_She walked up to her brother's bedroom door, now dressed in her night shirt, night shirts and slippers. Giving a small knock on the door, she leaned towards it and called in, "Linc? It's Luna, lil' bro. Mind if I come in?"_

"_Sure," she heard him reply, somewhat tiredly. She entered the room, seeing the boy sat on his bed in his pajamas. "What do you want?"_

_He didn't sound harsh when he said this, simply tired, but it still cut at Luna a little. "Mind if we talk?"_

"_I guess, but I need to get some sleep."_

"_Don't worry, bro, it'll just take a minute or so." She walked over and sat down next to him, his hands on his lap. "So, uh… how was school?"_

"_Seriously? Didn't I say that at dinner?" She frowned a little, that frown growing when he looked at her questioningly. "What do you really want, Luna?"_

"_Straight to the point, huh, bro?" She sighed. "Look, I've… I've been thinking about yesterday, and-"_

"_And you're wondering why I hid it, right? Lola already tried asking me that earlier, and I already told you this yesterday." Luna was going to correct her, but he spoke first. "Let me ask you something, Luna… why did you laugh?" Her eyes widened at the question. "I know Luan said she thought it was a joke… but what kind of joke is that?"_

_She searched her brain for an answer, the one she previously had no longer acceptable. "I… I don't know what to say, bro. It was just… in the moment, I thought…"_

_She struggled for a few more seconds, trying to find the words, but he sighed before she could answer. "I see… look, Luna, I need to get some sleep. Can you leave?"_

_Her hopes of reconciliation gone, she sighed too. "Okay, Lincoln." She got up from the bed, allowing the boy to grab Bun Bun and get under the covers. "If you want to speak about anything, come find me. You know I care about you… right?"_

"_Sure, Luna. Goodnight."_

_As he closed his eyes, the girl bit her lip, giving a small nod as she began to leave. "Goodnight."_

* * *

"After that, I closed the door and let him be," Luna concluded. "Like Lola said, I haven't had the chance to speak to him since." She rubbed the back of her head as she added, "probably wasn't the smartest idea to talk to him that late."

"Either way," Lori argued, "the little twerp's trying to ignore us."

"I don't think he's ignoring us," Leni defended. "He did at least speak to them."

"Yeah, he could've just sent them away," Luan agreed, her head ducked slightly. "He probably would've if I tried…" She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, quickly looking to see it was Luna who was comforting her. "Thanks."

Lori shook her head. "The point is, Lincoln's refusing to talk, so we're stuck at the moment. That's why we're having this meeting. Does anyone have any idea of what we should do?" She heard a scoff, her eyes turning directly to the one responsible. "Is there something you want to say, Lynn?"

"Yeah, there is," the athlete responded, getting to her feet. "I'm gonna take the floor, so you can step down, sis." Though Lori was irritated by the way in which Lynn spoke to her, she merely huffed before allowing the jock to do as she said. "Alright, I'm gonna cut to the chase and point out the problem. You all backed our bro into a corner, forced him to come clean and laughed at him when he did, so no wonder he's mad at you! How do you think you'd react if that happened to you?"

"Hold on a minute, Lynn!" Lori stepped forward again. "You're taking his side, after he's been hiding this from us for two months?! If we didn't confront him, then who knows when he would have told us!"

"He was trying to tell you! He was still figuring that out!"

"What are you-" She paused, her eyes narrowing as she figured out what Lynn was saying. "He already told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, you know what? He did. About three weeks back, Lincoln let me know the truth. Sure, I wasn't thrilled that it took him a month to tell me, but I was more concerned that he seemed… kind of scared to tell me. Just like he told you on Sunday, he was worried about how we would react. From what I know, Mom and Dad only found out after a couple of weeks or so."

"She wasn't the only one," Lucy then added, causing the others to jump. "I overheard Lynn talking about it a couple of weeks back, and I let Lincoln know last week that I knew. He wasn't mad at me."

"Great. So, is it just you two who knew?" No one said anything for a few seconds, but as she looked around, she noticed the nervous look on Leni's face. "Leni… Lincoln told you, didn't he?"

Shrinking slightly under her older sister's gaze, she nodded. "Linky told me after the fashion show. He asked me to keep it secret."

"There's a difference between keeping a secret, and lying!" Leni shrunk more, causing Lori to sigh. "Okay, let's bring this back for a second. Lincoln told you three, one at a time. Did you also know about the lists he had on his phone?"

"Actually, Lori, that was me and Leni," Lynn confessed. "We wanted to help him figure out how to tell the rest of you, and I thought of that."

"That explains why your names were absent from said lists," Lisa pointed out. "However, this still leaves doubt as to why he reacted as strongly as he did. Our eldest sister's frustration towards the revelation of his long kept secret was justified."

"Oh, and was all of you laughing at him 'justified'?" She narrowed her eyes at the other sisters, some of whom were looking guilty. "Did you all honestly think it was a joke?"

"I only laughed because Luan did," Lana answered, to which Lola also nodded. Lynn then turned to the fourth oldest girl.

"Yeah, you did seem to act like it was a joke. What was that about, huh?"

"I'm not even sure anymore," she dejectedly admitted. "I thought he was setting up for a punchline, but I don't know what it could have been."

"Maybe because it wasn't a joke?" She saw how Luan's guilty expression became mere apparent, so she softened her own gaze. "Look… I can tell you feel bad about what happened." She then shot a stink eyed gaze at Lori. "Unlike some of us."

"Excuse me?"

"She's got a point, dude," Luna spoke up. "I know Lisa's not really reacted, but that just seems like her way of seeing things. You, though… you've been kinda harsh to the bro."

"You're being ridiculous."

"No, she's not," Leni argued. "You've been so cold to him, even Jen noticed it."

"Wait, what?" The oldest sister looked appalled at what her sister said. "You told Jen about this?! What were you thinking?!"

"Because she was concerned!" Everyone jumped slightly- they knew it was rare to see the fashionista get angry, and it was something they knew took a lot of effort to make happen, so to see her do so as quickly as that was a shocker. "She saw him walking past her house yesterday, and she could tell he was upset! When you found out he was walking to school, you only thought about yourself! Why have you been so mean to him?!"

"I have not been mean to him!" She growled, angry that she had been painted in this way by her family. "I must be the only one focusing on the bigger picture here, because he was lying to us for two months. TWO STRAIGHT MONTHS. And now, he's mad at us because we decided that enough was enough."

"No, he's mad at you because you acted like jerks when he told you!" Lynn cut in, finding Lori's view of things to be aggravating. "Had you let him, he would have told you himself at his pace, and things would've been fine."

"Oh, yeah? And when would that be?"

"Saturday." Everyone turned to Luna, who had a look of realisation and disappointment in her eyes. "He was going to tell me on Saturday, before the fight protocol broke out." She looked down, regret washing over her. "If I had spoken to him, maybe I could have helped him."

"Guess it's kind of our fault too," Lola confessed, her and her twin also looking guilty. "If we hadn't gotten into that stupid fight, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"I beg to differ," Lisa indifferently offered. "That would likely not have changed our initial reaction, and he would still have reacted how he did."

"Can you blame him?" Lucy asked. "It's not like we haven't laughed at his hobbies before. Remember when the toilet was clogged?"

"Okay, let's put something into perspective here," Lori quickly intervened. "He almost ruined our day because he was rightly ashamed to like that stupid pony book, which we all agree is laughable." The other girls either gave some form of agreement or stayed silent, the most notable being Lucy. She waited a couple of seconds before getting up and leaving, forcing the others to wonder where she had gone. Lori was prepared to speak again, but Lucy quickly returned, carrying a pink Princess Pony magazine in her hand, dropping it on the bed. "Why did you go to his room for that?"

"I didn't go to Lincoln's room. I got this from my coffin drawer."

Everyone, even Lisa, gave wide eyed looks of shock at this, with Lynn being the first to say, "so… that means…"

"Yes, Lynn. I'm the one who clogged the toilet that day, because I'm the one who reads Princess Pony."

A few gasps were heard in the room. "Luce," Luna spoke, leaning forward and removing her arm from around Luan's back, "why'd you let him take the fall?"

"I didn't. I was going to confess, but he took the blame for me. I told him before then that I was scared about how all of you would treat me because of it, and he told me after that he was…" She had to gulp down the rising emotion. "That he was used to it, and that he could take it."

Leni gave a small whimper. "But… he shouldn't have to be used to it."

"And he shouldn't have to take it," Lynn agreed with anger in her voice, mostly directed at her sisters but some of it directed at herself. "So, do you still think that his reaction was unfair?"

"While his initial reaction might be justified," Lisa reasoned, "his subsequent actions are making this more of an issue than it needs to be. When our brother returns, we simply tell him that this was a misunderstanding, and all will be right."

Lynn blinked, trying to comprehend her reasoning. "Lisa… do you even hear yourself right now? If you think that-" She was going to scold the scientist some more, but after a look out of the window allowed her to see something that caught her attention, she changed her mind. "You know what? Lincoln's back, so if you're so confident that it's that easy, go ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Lisa scoffed. "Watch and learn." She left the bedroom, leaving the door open so the others could see or hear. She heard the front door open, and about ten seconds later, she saw her brother appear from downstairs. "Salutations, male sibling unit."

"Uh, hi, Lisa," he greeted, uncertain about what she was going to say. "Can I help you? If it's for an experiment, I'd rather not be involved in anything."

"No, no, this is not a scientific matter. Rather, you could say this is a social matter."

"Uh… uh huh. Lisa, why don't you just say what you want to say?"

"Fair enough. As you'll no doubt be aware, after the meeting we all were involved in this past Sunday, things have been of a tense nature between yourself and our sisters. I believe it would be best to resolve this. Therefore, on behalf of the others, I am proposing that we agree that this was a misunderstanding, and let bygones be bygones." She extended her hand to the boy. "Do you accept?"

He stared at the hand for maybe five seconds, Lisa thinking that he was considering it, but the blank stare he eventually gave her said otherwise. "Lisa, I get what you're trying to do, but you don't seem to understand. It's more complicated than something we can just 'put behind us', and you can't just say this on their behalf, either. I need to hear from them just as much as I need to hear from you. So, no, Lisa. I don't accept."

He didn't wait to hear anymore, turning around and going into his room, closing it behind him. Now alone, Lisa turned and returned to the others, seeing that Lynn had a 'told you so' look on her face. "Fair enough, fifth eldest sibling. It seems that… I was wrong. What do you propose?"

She shook her head. "I'm not proposing anything. You heard our bro, clear and simple. You need to figure out how to make it up to him." She looked around as she then added, "all of you. This meeting's over."

"Hey, you don't get to-"

"She's right, Lori," Luan interrupted as she followed Lynn in leaving. "There's no point in is sitting around. I need to go and think for a while."

The remaining girls all left the room as well, leaving Lori alone to sit down on her bed, where she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Dang it."


	66. Ch 66- More Stress, Focus Less

A couple days passed, and Lincoln found himself walking towards the sports centre with his friends once again. After another day of school, he was glad to be able to do gymnastics again- partly because he had really grown to enjoy the sport, but partly because it meant he didn't have to go home straight away. Things were still tense at home, and although they hadn't gotten worse, it seemed the general mood between him and his sisters. He had noticed how some of the girls seemed nervous around him, some acting like they wanted to say something but deciding not to. Either way, no one brought up what had been said on Tuesday, and apart from the occasional sentences at the dining or table or if they bumped into him by the bathroom, the girls more or less left him alone. He didn't mind the peace, but he also felt that the house felt quieter, in a way that unsettled him.

As the group walked towards the sports centre, Jordan looked over whilst chatting to Mollie, noticing that the Loud boy hadn't said much in a while and seemed to be deep in thought. "Lincoln?" she asked, snapping him out of his trance. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her, giving her a smile to reassure her, though she wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of distracted."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"You do know that when someone says they're fine, they're usually not, right?" Joy pointed out, an edge of snark in her voice.

"Not to mention, if Jordan starts worrying about something, she'll worry about it no matter what you say," Kat then added, causing the girl in question to develop a light blush.

"What are you talking about? I don't get like that!"

Some the girls scoffed. "Yeah, you do, Jordan," Mollie quickly argued. "Remember that time you saw a caterpillar that had crawled into Ajax's food bowl? You called the vet because you were worried he'd die from eating something, and he hadn't even eaten anything. Apart from your dad's bacon, that is."

This got the group laughing, with Lincoln also struggling to hold back chuckles, only adding to the Rosato girl's embarrassment. "I took the necessary precaution! You can't tell me you wouldn't have been worried if it was you!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why you wouldn't let go of him for an hour after the vet said he was okay."

"I was scared!"

"To be fair," Lincoln intervened, "I know that Lana would be pretty scared if that happened to any of her pets, and we all love our family pets. We'd probably be pretty upset if we thought one of them got sick."

"See?! At least Lincoln understands!" The others simply laughed more, making her pout. "Whatever."

"Come on, we're just messing with you, Jordan," Artie conceded. "Don't take it so seriously."

"If it helps," Lincoln then offered, "I appreciate you being concerned about."

This got her to stop pouting and smile at him. "Lincoln, you're my friend. Of course I'm gonna be concerned."

"Just a friend?" Mollie whispered to the Rosato girl, who responded with a sharp jab of her elbow. "Ow, okay! Okay!" She rubbed her arm where the girl had connected. "Geez, you need to take a joke."

"Be glad I didn't use a punchline."

Lincoln noticed the two girls talking, but didn't call them out on it. He simply chose to talk with his friends the rest of the way to the sports centre, still eager for what was to come. It didn't take them long before they arrived at the sports centre. After going inside and giving their training fees to Chris, they went into the respective changing rooms so they could get ready for training.

"Do Mollie and Jordan always argue like that?" Lincoln asked, trading his polo shirt for a white workout vest.

Artie chuckled. "You've been hanging out with us for about two months, and you're only just noticing this?" he quipped, getting Lincoln to chuckle as well. "Seriously, though, it's rare that I see them having a real argument. It's just their way of being friendly with each other, you know? I'm like that with Lance and Trent at times. Not every friendship is like 'Clincoln McLoud'. Still can't believe you call yourselves that, by the way."

"Yeah, I hear you, though it's not like me and Clyde haven't had arguments before. Just… very rarely."

"Yeah, you're not really the argumentative type. You tend to get on well with most people… except for Markus."

Lincoln scowled slightly at the thought. "Yeah… wish he could get over what happened and leave me alone, but I doubt that's ever gonna happen. He's just going to find new reasons to be a jerk."

Artie nodded, putting his arms through the correct holes of his leotard. "Yeah, Markus has always had his head up his ass. Still, I know the others will back you up if he tries to bother you again. I know that if he was in our class, Jordan would probably kick his ass in gym class for that time he punched you."

This got Lincoln chuckling again. "Yeah, probably. Still, I'd rather she didn't get hurt because of me."

"Yeah, I noticed." Lincoln looked at him, slightly confused by what he meant. "I'm probably not the first to ask this, but what's the deal between you two?"

"Honestly, if I had a dollar for everyone who asked me that, I could get a huge gaming computer." Artie laughed at the joke, but didn't interrupt so Lincoln could answer. "The short answer is that Jordan's my friend. We've definitely grown closer since I started coming here, but it hasn't become anything like that."

"Okay," the other boy conceded with a nod, "I can respect that. Still, since it's just us two here, you can tell me: do you think she's pretty?"

A light blush spread across Lincoln's face, and though that was answer enough for his friend, he told him, "w-well, I'd be lying to say I didn't think that. Just don't tell her I said that. I don't want to make things awkward."

The brown haired boy gave a grin. "Don't worry, man. I've got you, your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks."

* * *

"Alright, everybody!" Chris declared, now that they had finished their warm up and initial stretches. "We're gonna get started on the vaults today, so let's not waste any time. Head on over and I'll walk you through what we're doing today." The kids made no hesitation, walking over to the start of the vault track and waiting as Chris grabbed his clipboard before joining them. "Okay. So, today, what I'm going to teach you is a piked vault with a forward rotation. For some of you, this will be your first time doing a forward rotation, so there are a couple of things you need to do to keep safe. It's all about making sure you land right, so we're going to start by doing three quarter rotations, landing flat on our backs. Artie, Sadie, Joy, would you mind grabbing another crash mat for me?"

The three sixth graders nodded, walking over to the wall where the spare crash mats were, taking one and lifting it up to carry it over. They placed it on the other side of the vault horse before rejoining the group. "Thank you. Now, I'm gonna demonstrate how to do this, so stand next to the landing mat and pay close attention." The kids all did as he instructed and watched as he stopped at the start of the track, then began to run down it, picking up speed until he jumped off of the pad and leapt at the horse, pressing his palms flat against it to flip himself so he landed flat on his back on the mat with his arms spread out wide. A second after, he got back to his feet and walked over to the others. "There you go. Now, there are three things you've got to remember if you're going to do a flip. Anyone want to guess?"

One of the younger girls raised her hand and asked, "arms out wide?"

"That's right, Lizzy. You put your arms out wide with your palms down to create a bigger surface area and spread the impact on your body. In other words, it softens the landing. So, anyone want to guess for the other two?" He looked around and saw that Lincoln looked like he had an answer. "Lincoln? Any guesses?"

"Uh… you tucked your chin in, right?"

"Correct. If you keep your chin tucked, then you reduce the chance of your head whipping back. The floor might be padded, but that can still hurt, and you don't want to get a concussion. So, who knows the last one?" He waited to see if any of the newer kids had an answer, and when none of them did, he turned to Artie. "You know, right, Artie?"

He nodded before answering, "don't overthink it."

"Exactly. That's the most important thing to remember. If you think too much, then you might doubt yourself, and that's how you mess up, which could lead to you getting hurt. I always say that we're here to have fun, but we need to be safe first. When you're about to go, collect yourself first and then don't hesitate when you make your run." He clapped his hands together as he then told the kids, "okay. Now you know what to do, let's give it a go. Who wants to go first?"

After another of the younger girls volunteered, they all made their way to the start of the track, standing on the side so they could watch as they took their turn to run the track and flip off the vault horse like Chris had shown them. Lincoln paid close attention as his friends went down the track and completed the flip, until he heard Chris call him up to take a turn. He stepped onto the track and faced the vault, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes as he heard… laughing. The same laughter his sisters made when he first told them that he was doing gymnastics. His lips curled into a scowl, parting to show his grit teeth as the memory came to the foreground of his thoughts, taunting him. He shook his head to clear those thoughts, taking another deep breath to steady himself.

When he opened his eyes and saw that Mollie had cleared the crash mat, he took off running. He picked up speed as he neared the springboard. Once he was close enough, he leapt forward, planting his feet on the springboard and using it to launch himself up. He placed his hands out in front of him and placed his palms on the horse, but his right hand slipped, causing him to go chest first into it, taking the wind from his lungs and causing the others to give a resounding "Ooh" as he slid off it. He landed on his feet, though his hands went straight to his chest as his scowl returned.

"You okay, Lincoln?" Chris asked, heading over to check on the boy.

"Y-yeah," Lincoln groaned, slight anger in his voice. "I just slipped a little."

"You sure?" Seeing the white haired boy nod, he nodded back. "Alright. Head over to the others, you can try again in a minute or so."

"Okay." Lincoln did as he was told, walking over to Jordan who was looking at him with concern in her eyes, so he gave her a small smile. "Don't worry. Mistakes happen, I'll be fine." She smiled back, before Chris called her up to take her go. Once she began running down the track, he let his smile drop. 'It's okay, Lincoln. It's just one mistake.'

Unfortunately for the boy, that one mistake was just the start of a good few for the boy. He was able to get the landing right the second time, but then Chris instructed them to go for the full flip, and the mistakes began to rile him up. Sometimes he wasn't getting the full rotation, meaning he landed on his back, and sometimes he simply couldn't stick the landing on his feet. Either way, he felt himself getting angrier, and though he was able to hide it, he knew he didn't feel fully focused.

Little did he know, he wasn't the only who knew that. As the last kid completed their piked flip vault, Chris clapped his hands together. "Okay, everyone! Good work so far! We're gonna take five minutes before we do more work on the beam. Catch a breather, get something to drink, and then we'll continue." As the kids began to talk with each other, Chris went over to Lincoln and put a hand on his upper back. "Hey, can I talk with you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure, Chris," he replied, following the instructor out of the gymnastics hall and into the corridor.

"So, are you doing okay? You've seemed kind of distracted today."

"I… yeah, I have. I don't really want to talk about it, though. Family stuff."

"I see…" He knew that he needed to tell the boy something to help settle his thoughts, and when he thought back to what the boy's mother said when he first met her, he knew what to say. "Let me tell you something, Lincoln. When I first started gymnastics, my mother was really proud of me. Being a gymnast herself, she saw it as me following in her footsteps, and she was happy to teach me what she could. When my friends first found out… they weren't as supportive. They thought it was weird that I was doing a sport like that, and that I was stupid for liking it. I let them know that I wasn't happy with that, and said if they were my real friends, then they'd be happy for me for finding something I enjoyed."

"Really? So… what happened?"

"Well, we didn't speak for a few days. I'd made some new friends at gymnastics who helped me to deal with it, and I sat by myself during school. Then, one day, there's a knock at the door, and I see my friends. They told me they were sorry about what they said, and that they would try to be more understanding. We talked things out, and we made up. Sure, there were a couple of people at school who still joked, but my friends backed me up, and I stopped letting them get to me." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "What I'm trying to say is that, the people that care about you will show that they care, even if they need to realise their mistake first. You'll see."

"How did you…" He didn't need to finish that sentence, as Chris just gave a knowing grin. Slowly, Lincoln smiled. "Thanks, Chris."

"No problem, buddy. Now, I know this is something you don't want to have to deal with, but make sure you don't let it get to you too much. Need to keep safe, you know?" The boy nodded. "Alright. Now, go get some water before we start again."

"Okay."

So, Lincoln made his way back into the gymnastics hall, walking over to the benches where his friends were sat. He grabbed his water bottle from next to Artie before sitting down beside him, taking a drink to refresh himself.

"So, what did Chris want to talk about?" his friend asked him.

"It was nothing," Lincoln dismissed. "He just wanted to see if I was okay. I told him I am."

"Are you sure?" He heard Jordan ask. "You took a rough bump earlier."

"Jordan, seriously, I'm alright."

"You're gonna keep telling me you!re fine, even if you aren't, right?"

"Probably."

She couldn't resist laughing at his blunt response. "Okay, fine. I'll stop pestering you."

"You don't have to stop, just don't expect my answer to change."

Her eyes rolled. "Fair enough."

* * *

Lincoln relaxed for a couple of minutes before practice resumed. The Loud was able to put his home issues aside and focus on practice, making little mistakes but nothing that caused him to get angry like before. He was able to keep his head clear and do okay, while still having fun for the remainder of the session. After they were done on the beam, they did some more stretches before the session reached its end and the kids were able to go home. Lincoln quickly got changed and made his way outside with Jordan, where his mother was waiting for him. They got into the van and were driven off, eventually reaching the Rosato house.

"So, I guess I'll see you at school," Jordan told the boy as she undid her seatbelt.

"Okay," he replied. "Are we still doing our project at your house after school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We've almost finished, so it shouldn't take us too long." She opened the door and turned to the woman driving. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs Loud."

"You're welcome, Jordan," Rita said to her as the girl stepped out of the van and closed the door, waving as the Louds drove off. The boy was quiet for a few moments before his mother spoke again. "So, Lincoln. I know you told me you didn't want to do anything with regards to your sisters. Is everything okay now?"

He sighed. "Not yet. Lisa tried talking to me, but I don't think she understands why I was annoyed. The others… well, I think some of them are avoiding me."

The mother frowned, having hoped her children would work it out by now. "Lincoln, are you sure you don't want me to talk to them?"

"I'm sure, Mom. Besides, I think Lynn already said something to them."

"Is there a reason you don't want me to talk to them?" He didn't answer straight away, and a look in her rear view mirror let her see the somewhat guilty expression on his face. "It's okay, Lincoln. You can tell me, I won't be mad."

"Well… I guess I just… don't want them to apologise just because you said so."

"Ah, I see. You want to be sure that they mean it when they tell you that they're so."

"Is that wrong?"

She shook her head, turning onto their street. "It's not wrong, Lincoln. I think that's a fair thing to want. Just make sure you're giving the girls a chance, alright? Don't shut them out."

"I won't, Mom."

She smiled as she began to park Vanzilla. "I know you won't." The car slowly slowed to a stop in the garage, the mother turning off the engine and taking out the key. "Your father should be getting dinner ready still, so go on and relax before he tells you it's ready."

"Thanks, Mom." He got out of the car and made his way into the house through the front door, entering the living room where he saw Lynn and Lana sat on the couch, watching TV. When he closed the door, Lana saw him and gave a smile, getting up and walking over to him.

"Hey, Lincoln!" she greeted.

"Hey, Lana," he greeted back, raising an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Well, Charles needs to go on a walk after dinner, but dad won't let me walk him alone. Could you walk him with me?"

"Sorry, Lana. I'm kind of tired after practice, so I think I'm just gonna relax after dinner. I'm sure one of the others will walk him with you."

"Oh… okay."

She frowned as he walked upstairs, giving a sigh as she sat back down on the couch. "Hey, I'll walk him with you," Lynn offered.

"Thanks."

The athlete heard her younger sister's disappointed tone and turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"I was hoping Lincoln would walk Charles with me."

"Why were you… oh, I get it. Come here, grease monkey." She shuffled towards the younger girl and pulled her into a side hug. "He doesn't hate you, he's just unhappy with what happened. Plus, you heard him, he's tired. He'll hear you out if you try and talk to him another time. You've just got to pick a better time, that's all."

Lana hugged Lynn back, but her frown remained. "I hope so…"


	67. Ch 67- No Sleep For The Worried

Lana was pacing back and forth in her room, her hands behind her back and her head ducked down. "Come on, Lana, you just need to tell him!" she told herself. "Tell him you're sorry and that you regret laughing at him!" A frown appeared on her face as she then argued, "but he's still mad at me…" She shook her head. "That's because you haven't apologised! When he sees you're sorry, he won't be mad at you!"

This went on for another minute, just like it had gone on for a good few minutes already. The six year old continued her pacing, not noticing that her pets Hops and Izzy were watching her. The frog and lizard talked to each other in their language, both knowing that someone needed to snap Lana out of this state. With a nod, Hops faced his owner and shot his tongue at Lana's ear, getting her attention.

"Hops? What is it?" She walked over and looked at the frog, who croaked. "Sorry… I'm just really nervous. I don't want Linky to hate me, you know?" The frog croaked some more, causing Lana to sigh. "You're right. I should just get it over with. The longer I wait, the more mad he's gonna be, right?" Both lizard and frog nodded, making Lana smile. "Thanks, you two. I'll bring you some food when I'm done, okay? Stay here."

She turned to the door, and with a deep breath, she left her bedroom and headed downstairs, where she saw her brother on the couch, watching TV. Though she felt butterflies in her stomach, she powered through and approached the boy. "Um, Linky?"

He looked to her, a blank expression on his face. "What do you want, Lana?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure, but be quick. I'm heading out once my friends get here."

"R-right." She gulped as she prepared the words in her head before saying them out loud. "I'm… I'm sorry for laughing at you. I-I'm sorry that I didn't support you when you told us that you like gymnastics, a-and I'm sorry I made you mad at me."

Lincoln looked at the girl, almost observing her as she made her apology, and didn't say anything for a good ten seconds after she did so. When she finally looked up and met his eye, he responded. "I appreciate you trying to apologise, Lana… but do you really think that's enough?"

Her heart sunk in her chest as he said this. "W-what do you mean?"

He scoffed. "You and the others humiliated me, Lana. You made me feel like an idiot, just like you always do when I talk about my hobbies. I have always supported you guys when it comes to your things. I've gone to your events, I've helped you out at home, but whenever it comes to something I like, you either stick your nose up or laugh! I decided to tell you guys the truth, and it was no different than usual! So, yeah, Lana! I'm mad at you, I'm mad at all of you, and it's going to take more than a weak apology to make up for that."

Tears were brimming in her eyes, so she lifted her hand to rub her eyes. "L-Like what?"

He rolled his eyes before he heard a knock at the door, standing up and walking past the girl. "I'm not just going to tell you, Lana. You need to grow up and figure it out for yourself." All Lana could do was watch as he opened the door, revealing Jordan standing on the other side. "Hey, Jordan. Shall we go?"

"Sure," she replied, catching site of the twin out of the corner of her eye. "What's with her?"

"Don't bother. She's not worth it."

That was the line that broke the dam, the tears streaming down the young girl's face as her brother left and shut the door. She wasn't content to leave things there, so she rushed to the door, throwing it open and running out of it. She ran down the street in the direction her brother went, calling out his name, though the more she ran, the further away he seemed to get. Even as her legs started to tire, and her brother seemed to disappear from site, she ran. This only stopped when she tripped on a crack, falling to the floor. She sobbed, both from the pain of the fall and the pain of her brother's words. "Lincoln… LINCOLN!"

* * *

Lana shot up from her bed with a fright, calling her brother's name. She looked around, her brain realising that it was still nighttime, and she was back in her bed. It took a moment as she panted to realise that it had been a nightmare, and that there were tears staining her cheeks. She looked over to her twin's bed, seeing that the younger twin was still asleep, so she quickly but quietly through off her bedsheet and put her feet in her slippers, then left the room. She began towards the room shared by her two oldest sisters, but had a change of heart halfway there and turned around. She then walked up to the bedroom of her brother, placing a knock on the door. While she didn't get a response, she did cause it to open slightly, so she gently pushed it further open, allowing her to silently enter. She was just about able to see her brother in his bed, his back facing her. She opened her mouth to speak to him, but the words got caught in her throat, that fear she felt at the start of her nightmare returning in full.

'He's not gonna want to speak with me,' she sombrely thought. 'He's just gonna be mad at me.'

So, she turned and started to run out of the room, only for her to blindly trip on his desk chair, falling into the door and onto the floor. She started to sob from the fall, not realising that her brother had begun to stir. After rubbing his eyes he sat up and looked around. Thanks to the door letting some of the light in, he was able to see Lana, his brotherly instinct bringing him concern. "Lana?" he asked, getting out of bed. "What happened?"

"S-s-sorry I w-w-woke you up, L-Lincoln," she sobbed, her hand raising to her cheek.

"Woke me up? Wait, hang on a second." He walked over to the door, turning on the light switch next to it so he could see better. With the light on, he could now see the grazing on Lana's cheek behind her hand. "Lana, you're hurt! What happened?"

"I… I-I tr-tripped, and h-hit the door."

His eyes softened at hearing this. "That must have hurt. Come here." He bent down and scooped her up in his arms. "Let's get that cleaned up, okay?"

She sniffled, wiping away some of her tears, though new ones quickly replaced them. "Okay…"

"Okay." He carried her back out of his room, walking down the hallway and into the bathroom. He sat her down on the stool that his younger sisters used when brushing their teeth, then began to look in the medicine cabinet. He soon found what he was looking for and pulled out a first aid kit, setting it down on the sink. "Lana, I know your cheek hurts, but can you move your hand so I can look at it?" She hesitantly removed her hand from her cheek, allowing the boy to see just how bad the graze was. "It's not bleeding, thankfully, but it looks sore. I think you'll be okay if I just clean it." He turned on the cold water, washing his hands with soap then grabbing the wash cloth from the first aid kit and running it under the water. "This might sting a little, so just bear with me, okay?"

"Okay."

He noticed that she seemed quiet, but he thought it might simply be because she was tired, so he gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." He took the cloth and gently brushed it against her cheek, eliciting a small groan of discomfort and a wince, but the girl stayed strong as her brother cleaned up her graze. Once he was satisfied, he rinsed his towel under the water again and wrung it dry, returning it into the kit. "I think you'll be okay. Do you want me to put a plaster on it?" She gave a small nod. "Alright. I need to dry your cheek first, so I'll grab a plaster and we can put it on downstairs. Better if I use a paper towel rather than toilet paper, don't want it getting infected."

He grabbed a plaster out of the first aid kit, then closed it and returned it to the medicine cabinet. He then picked Lana up again and carried her downstairs, sitting her down at the kiddy table in the kitchen. He took a square of paper towel from the roll and gently dried up his younger sister's cheek, then took the plaster out of its wrapping and put it over 5e grazing. "There we go. Now all that's left is to kiss it better." He leaned forward to do just that, but she leaned away from it, much to his confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I don't deserve you kissing it better," she mumbled, Lincoln only just making out what she said.

"What do you mean?" She looked away, almost acting shamefully, some placed his hand on her shoulder. "Lana, what's wrong? And how come you were in my room before?"

She was scared to tell him, but when she looked at Lincoln and saw his soft gaze, she decided there was no point in hiding it. "I had a nightmare, but… I didn't want you to be mad at me for waking you up."

"Lana, if you had a nightmare, you could have told me. It's fine. So, what happened?"

"W-well… I… I tried to… apologise to you."

"Apologise?"

She nodded. "Yeah, for how I acted. You know, on Sunday?"

As it sank in, the sixth grader's brow furrowed and a frown appeared in his lips. "Oh."

"Y-yeah. I told you that… th-that I was… sorry for laughing, sorry for not supporting you, and sorry for making you mad at me. You didn't like it, though. You said it wasn't enough and that I had to figure out what to do. You said that I… I-I-I wasn't worth it." Her tears came flooding back. "Then you left. I-I tried running after you, but I-I fell, and… you weren't there." She tried wiping away the tears, but they kept on pouring. "Th-that was when I woke up." Lincoln didn't say a word at first, making Lana worried that she shouldn't have said anything, and that worry grew when Lincoln walked over to the counter again. "Please don't be mad at me!"

"Lana, listen to me, okay? I'm not mad at you." He returned to the girl with the roll of paper towels, putting it on the table and ripping another square off. "Here."

She took it, surprised by the gesture. "Thanks." She began to dry up her tears as she asked him, "so, you're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad at you."

"But… on Sunday…"

"I was mad then, yes, but I'm not mad now. If anything, I'm… I'm disappointed. And upset." He could see that Lana didn't fully understand, but he couldn't blame her, so he sat down and began to explain. "Do you remember that time when the toilet was clogged?"

"With the Princess Pony book? Yeah, Lucy said it was her book, and that you took the blame because she didn't think she could handle the teasing."

"She did? Woah… guess I'm gonna have to thank her for that." He made a mental note of that, then shook his head. "Well, what I'm trying to get at is, you girls all laughed at me for my costume, and it made me feel bad, you know?" Lana nodded her head, looking more guilty as she pictured what had happened in her mind. "I wanted to try and avoid that happening again, because this is new for me and I really enjoy it. That's why I was trying to tell you all one by one, you know?"

"Oh… but, what about when you told me that thing a couple of weeks ago? When you saw me sad about what Lacey had done?"

He gave a small nod, remembering the conversation they had. "You're not wrong, Lana. Honestly, I wish that someone had told me that when I started doing gymnastics. If that was the case, I might have told you from the start, and things might have been different."

"Or we might have acted the same," Lana pointed out, using the paper towel in her hands to wipe away new tears. "I was too dumb to think before I laughed."

"Lana, you're just a kid. You made a mistake and you realise that, and you weren't the only one to make that mistake. If I had the chance to talk to you alone, then maybe things would have been different… but there's no point in thinking like that now."

"You're right… you're right." She sniffled, then looked her brother in the eye. "Lincoln, I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already apologised."

"But, I want to do it properly." He understood her tone, so he didn't say anything as she began to apologise once more. "I'm sorry that I laughed at you. I shouldn't have done it, and I shouldn't have made you mad. You're my big brother, and if you like gymnastics, then I'm happy for you. I just hope you can forgive me, but… I-I understand if you d-"

She stopped as she felt her brother wrap his arms around her, and though she couldn't see it, he had a smile on his face. "It's okay, Lana," he whispered, pride and joy in his words. "I forgive you."

"Y-you do?" She felt his head nod against hers, and her lip started to quiver as happy tears formed in his eyes, before she returned the hug tightly. "Thank you, Lincoln. Thank you."

She continued to thank him as they held their embrace, the boy rubbing her back as he assured her that everything was okay. They were both happy that things had turned out as they did that night, and that they were able to make amends. When they eventually let go of each other, she wiped away the rest of her tears before a small yawn came out. Lincoln smirked at it, feeling wiped after their talk as well.

"We should probably go back to bed," he told his little sister. "We both have school tomorrow."

"R-Right…"

He noticed that she seemed nervous as she said this, her thumbs twiddling together. "What's wrong?" She didn't say anything at first, but he quickly thought of something. "Oh, I get it. You want me to kiss your cheek better now, don't you? Come here."

She giggled as he kissed her cheek where she had grazed it. "That wasn't what I meant!"

"It wasn't? Then, what is it?"

"Well… can I… sleep in your room tonight?"

His smile grew. "Is that all? Of course you can, Lana."

"Thanks, Lincoln."

"Anytime, Sis." Standing from his chair, he took the paper towel from Lana and threw it in the trash, then placed his hands under Lana's arms and picked her up so he could carry her back upstairs. When they got to his room he sat her down on his bed then turned the light off before walking over to the bed. He sat down next to her and they both laid down next to each other before he covered them both with the duvet. "Goodnight, Lana."

"Um, Lincoln? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why do you like gymnastics?"

He opened his mouth, but found that it was a good question that he needed to think about. He hadn't really thought about that before, not even when he first told Lynn. "Well… I don't know how to put it, exactly, Lana. It's kind of like… when I tried those other sports, I was just doing them for the sake of doing something. With gymnastics, though, there's more to it. I don't feel like I'm doing a sport. I feel like I'm just having fun, and I don't really feel tired." He then smirked as he added, "of course, Lynn's definitely made sure I'm wiped any time we train together." He heard Lana laughing softly at his joke, making him laugh as well. "But, yeah. It's not as simple as, I like it because of this, or I like it because of that. I think it's just that I like it." He was expecting her to respond, but when she didn't, he looked down and saw his little sister fast asleep, the moonlight through his window allowing him to see the smile on her face as she snuggled him. Pleased by the cute sight, he ruffled her hair, telling her, "goodnight, Lana," before falling asleep as well.

* * *

Across the hall, the bathroom door opened and one of the other Loud girls stepped out with a yawn. "No more soda before bedtime," she told herself, before noticing something. "Why is Lincoln's door open?" She began to consider whether or not she should have a look inside, knowing that her brother might be annoyed if he caught her, but her curiosity won out in the end. She quietly traversed the landing, keeping alert for any of her other sisters or her parents coming out of their rooms. Once she reached the former linen closet, she poked her head in, and the small amount of light that flooded in from the hallway allowed her to see an adorable sight- her brother laying in his bed with Lana cuddling him, her head on his chest and smiles on their faces. 'Looks like they've made up,' she thought to herself, initially happy for her little sister until a frown formed. 'Wish I could say the same for me and Lincoln... I want to tell him, but I don't know how... unless...'

As an idea began to form, she left the boy's room and returned to her own. She grabbed her phone from her desk, pulled up her contacts and began to send someone a text:

_Hey. Can we meet tomorrow before school? I... I messed up_

She didn't have to wait too long before a reply was sent her way.

**Of course. What's wrong?**

_I'll tell you in the morning. thanks_

She turned her phone off and placed it back on her desk, then got into her bed. 'They'll probably be mad at me... but if I want their help, then I've gotta be honest with them...'


	68. Ch 68- Work Hard

**(A/N: hey, everyone! I just want to thank you all again for the support you guys are showing! This story has now hit two hundred followers and favourites, and each time I see that my story has reached one of these milestones, I find that I'm more and more amazed at just how much you guys have supported my work. I never imagined anything I published would get to that point, and I'm truly grateful to all of you for making that the case.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)**

The alarm on Lincoln's phone went off, waking him once again. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, then looked down and saw that Lana was still sleeping, making him remember that the two had made up the night before, but also that it was still an hour earlier than when the animal lover typically woke up. 'Better turn my alarm off,' he thought. 'No point in waking her up early.' He carefully lifted her arms from around him and got out of the bed, heading over to his desk and turning off his alarm. He then took a pen and some paper and wrote a note, telling Lana that he had gotten up early and that he would see her at school. Before he could leave the room, though, he heard stirring from behind him, and a look over his shoulder let him see that Lana was grabbing at the air. He didn't want her to wake, so he did some quick thinking before seeing his plush rabbit toy under his pillow. He took the rabbit from under the pillow and held it out so Lana could grab it, holding it against her chest and smiling as she slept easy again. 'Look after her buddy.'

Satisfied that his work as a big brother was done, he grabbed some clothes, left the room and went over to the bathroom so he could do his typical morning routine. As he began brushing his teeth, he couldn't help but smile as he thought back to the talk he had with his younger sister the night before. It was a sign to the boy that things were going to be better, as long as he didn't rush things. He had faith that his other sisters would try and make up with him, and that everything would work out as it was supposed to. He just had to be patient, and if things didn't work out that way, he remembered what his mother told him. 'I don't want Mom to intervene. She already has enough to do, looking after us, she doesn't need more to do.'

He didn't spend any more time than he had to in the bathroom, knowing that even though they were still asleep, any of his sisters could wake up early and need the bathroom too. Once he was done, he changed into his normal attire, then left the bathroom and went downstairs. He could hear a loud yawn coming from his parents' bedroom, one he figured belonged to his father. Knowing what came next, Lincoln went int the kitchen and pulled out an apron, putting it on and tying it, then washed his hands and dried them off, just as he saw Lynn Sr enter. "Morning, Dad."

"Morning, kiddo," the chef greeted. "You don't need to keep helping me, you know?"

"I know, but I want to. Besides, it's not as if I have much else to do before school."

Lynn chuckled as he walked over and grabbed his apron and put it on. "You're not wrong. While I wash up, would you mind grabbing some flour and a carton of eggs? We're gonna be making a lot, so I think we'll need twenty four eggs."

"Sure thing." Lincoln searched the cupboards for the required ingredients, pulling out a 2kg box of flour and two dozen eggs, setting them on the counter next to the weighing scale. "Okay. So, what are we making?"

"We, Lincoln, are gonna make pasta dough." He pulled out a food processor. "Have you ever used one of these before?" When his son shook his head, he nodded. "This is a food processor. What we're gonna do is put 200 grams of flour in, then you can add two eggs and I'll turn it on."

"Sounds simple. Let's do it." Lincoln took a small bowl and put it on the weighing scales, then filled it with the required amount of flour, which he then put in the processor. He grabbed two eggs and cracked them into the flour, making sure to remove any shell that got in, before his father started to mix them together with the processor. "So, how do you know when it's done?"

"It usually takes a minute, but it should basically look like bread crumbs when it's done." Lincoln nodded and watched as the processor combined the dough together, eventually reaching the consistency that Lynn desired, so he turned it off. "Now we've got it to this point, we need to knead it together into a ball. You want to give it a crack?"

"Okay." Lincoln took the dough and put it onto the counter, forming it together so that it began to resemble a ball. He worked it for about another minute before he turned to his dad and asked, "is this enough?"

"Let me see." He took the dough and checked it, kneading it for another couple of seconds. "Yeah, that'll do. I'm gonna wrap this up and put it in the fridge, can you get started on the next batch?"

Lincoln nodded, and this began the routine that lasted the next twenty minutes. Lincoln would add the ingredients, Lynn would process it, Lincoln would knead it together and Lynn would put it in the fridge. By the time they were done, they had prepared twelve balls of pasta dough, more or less of equal size.

"That was some good work, kiddo," Lynn commended, patting Lincoln on the back. "You've got some good skills. Might be able to have you work with me in the summer if you need a part time job."

"Thanks, Dad," Lincoln replied. "So, what do we do with the dough now?"

"Well, that's all we can really do for now. When I get to the restaurant, I can turn it into a noodle soup or a pasta dish, but it's better if I do that there. Why don't you go see if there's anything on TV before you go to school, and I'll whip you up some breakfast?"

"Sure thing." As he took off his apron and turned around, he saw that Luna enter through the dining room, her school bag already on her back. "Morning, Luna."

"Hey, bro," she greeted, somewhat distantly as she walked past him to get to the fridge. "Morning, Pops."

"Hey there, Rockstar. I was just gonna get some breakfast for Lincoln. You want some?"

"Thanks, but I'm getting some at school. Just grabbing some water for the road." She pulled a water bottle out of the fridge and closed it, then gave her family a "see ya" as she headed out the back door. While Lynn Sr assumed that she was just in a hurry to get to school, and had something to do there, Lincoln couldn't help but wonder what had just happened.

* * *

Lincoln left for school on his bike after he had breakfast, and the school day pretty much blurred past for him. Other than Rusty failing with his latest chat up lines and a brief glare from Markus, it was just a typical day for the boy. The final bell eventually rang, and after gathering his things from his locker, he met up with Jordan so they could walk towards her house. It wasn't a particularly cold day, so they were just dressed in their usual attires, chatting as they neared the Rosato house, with Lincoln updating her about how he and Lana made up.

"Aww!" she cooed. "That sounds so sweet!"

"Well, I didn't want to just leave her," he confessed. "I figured it was best to let her know that everything was okay, and that I wasn't trying to avoid her."

"I get it. Though, you know you've just admitted you sleep with a bunny toy, right?"

He blushed a bright red and smiled meekly. "Y-Yeah, probably shouldn't have mentioned that."

She giggled at his sudden shyness. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone. Plus, there's something kind of cute about that."

"C-cute?!" His blush only intensified at hearing that and how his voice went high, causing him to look away and fail to realise the slight blush that had appeared on her cheeks. "Uh, th-thanks."

"D-don't mention it." In her mind, she was asking herself, 'why did I say that?!', but she shook her head and thought of something else to say, in order to avoid an awkward silence settling between them. "Still, it's a good thing that you and your sister have made up. You must be pretty happy about that."

"Yeah, I am. I know I still have five more sisters to make up with, but I think things will work out now."

"Of course it will." She put a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look at her again. "They still care about you, Lincoln. Don't forget that."

He smiled again as he nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem." As they continued walking, they neared their house just as they saw a light blue convertible car pull up next to them. They saw Jen sat in the shotgun seat, with Jessie in the driver's seat. "Hey, Jen."

"Hey, you two," she greeted, getting out of the car and closing the door. "Thanks for the ride, Jessie."

"No problem," she replied, then turned to the two younger kids. "Nice to see you again, Jordan! You too, Lincoln!"

"Hi," they both said with a wave.

"Are either of you going to be at the next fashion show? You two made great models before."

They both blushed at the memories of the last fashion show, looking to each other as they tried to block out the somewhat withheld laughter from Jen. "I don't think so."

Jessie couldn't help but giggle at how they spoke at the same time again, but decided not to tease them further. "Anyway, I'd better go before my folks wonder where I am. Jen, I'll see you at the mall tomorrow."

"See you later, Jess." As her friend drove away, Jen turned to the bashful preteens. "So, you two still working on your project?"

"Yeah, we're presenting it on Monday," Jordan explained. "We're almost done, but we just need to finish a few things for it."

"Okay." They began walking the rest of the way to the house, which was just a few doors away now. "So, Mom texted me and said she's gonna be late home, so it's just gonna be the three of us until she or Dad gets home. I've got the spare key, so we can get in, but I need to do some stuff upstairs, so you'll be on your own. I'm sure you won't mind, since you won't want me bothering you the whole time."

"Pretty much." Lincoln chuckled at Jordan's blunt response, while Jen rolled her eyes. "But, yeah, we'll be alright."

"Alright, fine. I'll leave you two alone." They eventually got to the house, and after unlocking the door, Jen let herself and the two younger kids into the house, shutting the door behind her. "If either of you two need anything, one of you can come get me."

"Thanks, sis." So, whilst Jen went upstairs, the two elementary schoolers entered the living room, putting their bags on the sofa. "I'll go grab my laptop, then."

"No problem. I'll start getting my notes out." She nodded before walking away, heading upstairs to get her things. As Lincoln took his things out of his bag, he heard familiar footsteps coming toward him, a smirk coming to his face as he turned around and began to pet Ajax, the dog panting happily at the affection he was receiving. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Ajax. Did you miss me?" Ajax gave an affirmative bark, making the boy chuckle. "I missed you too, boy."

He was then surprised when he heard the front door open and closed. Looking towards the entranceway, he saw was a strong looking man of nearly six foot with light brown hair, wearing a white button shirt with a brown tie, grey trousers and black shoes. He had a brown shoulder bag on his left shoulder and a newspaper in his right hand. As he entered the living room, he caught sight of the boy and looked at him with mild surprise. "Oh! I wasn't expecting anyone here apart from my daughters."

Lincoln stood up straight and faced the man. "Uh, hi there, sir. You must be Jordan's dad."

"Yeah, that's right. The name's Brad, but you can just call me Mr Rosato. I'm assuming, then, that you're a friend of my younger daughter's."

"I am. My name's Lincoln, Lincoln Loud."

"Lincoln, huh? So you're the boy I've heard my family talk about."

"They've talked about me?"

"They have. All good things, I promise." This relieved Lincoln a little. "Take a seat, kid."

"Oh, uh, okay. Thank you."

He sat down on the couch, and Brad sat down after him, keeping a space between them. "So, apparently, you've been hanging out with my daughter quite a bit over the past… how long now, two months?"

"That sounds about right."

"So, how come you only started hanging out with her at that point?"

Lincoln gulped, feeling a bit pressured now by the man. "I mean, me and Jordan have been friends for a few years now, but our main friend groups didn't really… overlap much, if that makes sense. She hung out with her friends, I hung out with mine, but we still talked at school and stuff. Then, a couple of months ago, my parents wanted me to take up sport, and after I tried a few other things that I didn't take to, Jordan recommended I try gymnastics… well, she didn't say that's what I was trying until I got there."

"So, you went and you had no idea what you were doing?" The adult of the two couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Bet that was awkward."

"A little, but it turned out that I enjoyed it, so I've been doing it since then. We also started hanging out apart from school and gymnastics as well, and… yeah, we've become closer as friends."

"I see. So, be honest with me, Lincoln: are you two just friends, or are you looking for something more from her?" He heard the sigh that Lincoln made and smirked. "I take it I'm not the first one to bring that up."

"I'm afraid not. Look, Mr Rosato, I do think highly of Jordan. She's smart, she's fun to hang out with, and she's considerate. She's been a great friend to me, but I don't want to make things awkward between us. I'm happy with how things are between us."

The muscular man took his time considering what the boy said and how he said it. He didn't say anything for a good few second after he was done, making the white haired child nervous, until he eventually gave a smile. "You can relax, kid. I appreciate the honesty, and I'm glad to hear that you two have been getting along. As long as you don't do anything to hurt my daughter, physically or emotionally, then we don't have a problem."

"I won't. Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it."

"Dad?" They looked behind them and saw that Jordan had returned with her laptop. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be at work."

"What can I say? I got some good news at work, and I got the rest of the day off. Now, come here." He got up from the couch and walked over so he could hug his daughter, the girl hugging him back with one arm so she didn't drop her laptop. "So, what are you two up to, huh?"

"We're finishing our geography project for Monday. We have to create a travel presentation about Italy."

"Italy, huh? Well, I'll let you two work on that. Is your sister home as well?" Jordan nodded. "Okay. I'll let her know I'm here, and I'll be in my study if you need anything."

"Okay, Dad. Jen also said Mom was gonna be home late."

"Alright, good to know." He gave a look to the boy and told him "nice to meet you, Lincoln."

"You too, Mr Rosato."

Once the man walked away, Jordan turned to her friend. "My dad wasn't too hard on you, was he? He's usually kind of tough when he meets my friends for the first time. Well, if they're boys, he is."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My sisters are kind of overbearing if I have a female friend around. Still, he was pretty cool, actually. Not too harsh at all."

She gave a relieved sigh as she sat down next to him, placing the laptop on the table. "That's good. So, shall we get on with this?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The two spent the next hour or so finishing off their powerpoint for Monday, fact checking their information and checking that it was organised in the best way possible. They also wrote a script so they knew what to say when they gave their presentations, and made sure that everything was correct, since they wouldn't have any other chance to work on it before geography class. Eventually, they decided that they were happy with what they had, and since they finished earlier than they had expected, Jordan offered for them to hang out for a while, which they did. Ajax had also come to play with them again, so they went into the backyard and played with the Australian Shepherd with his rope toy and his ball. At one point, Lincoln threw a bad ball, causing Ajax to jump in the pool and splash Jordan. She was shocked at first, but when Lincoln started laughing, she couldn't resist laughing along with him.

Once Ajax had calmed down enough, they returned to the couch and watched TV for a while, until they heard a knock at the door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Lincoln asked as the girl got up.

"Yeah, Mollie and the girls are coming round for a sleepover." She walked over to the front door and opened it, but went wide eyed when she saw who it was. "Though, I'm pretty certain I didn't invite your sister!"

Overhearing this, Lincoln raised an eyebrow and stood up just as Lynn Jr entered the room. "Lynn? What are you doing here?"

"I figured I'd meet you here so we can do parkour training," the sporty Loud told her brother. "Plus, Lori took over the living room for her talk with her Boo Boo Bear," she had to resist wretching as she said this, "and I can only take so much of that cheesy stuff."

"Yeah, I hear you. I'm coming." He then looked to his friend. "Guess I'd better get going."

"Sure. I've got the powerpoint on my memory stick, so I'll bring it to school on Monday."

"Sounds like a plan. Guess I'll see you on Sunday at practice."

"I'll see you then."

He grabbed his bag and prepared to leave with Lynn, but Jordan stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. I know we talked earlier, but… don't worry about the rest of your sisters. You'll work things out, I know it."

"Thanks, Jordan." He smiled, patting her hand. "I appreciate that."

"Hey, Stinkoln!" Lynn interrupted, stood near the front door. "Either kiss her or let's go!"

Both Jordan and Lincoln turned bright red at Lynn's outburst, causing them to let go of each other's hand and step apart. "I really hate my sisters sometimes," he muttered, shaking his head before looking at Jordan. "S-Sorry about her. I'll get her out of your hair." Turning to his sister, he gave her an angry look and yelled, "you'd better start running, Lynn!" This got his sister to smirk and run out of the house. "I'll see you later, Jordan."

"See you later," she replied as he took off as well. She watched the boy run off after Lynn and was going to shut the door after him when she saw Mollie approaching, carrying an overnight bag. "Hey, Mollie."

"Hey, Jordan," she greeted back. "So, how come I saw Lincoln running past like he was trying to kill someone?" Seeing her friend give an angry groan and that her cheeks were flushed, she smirked. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Let's just say that, whenever you and the girls teased me about Lincoln, I'm glad you weren't as bad as his sisters." Mollie didn't even try not to laugh at this, causing Jordan to roll her eyes. "Whatever. The others aren't here yet, so we might as well head inside and wait for them."

"Actually, I can see the girls now."

Jordan turned the other way and saw Joy, Sadie and Kat walking towards them, each carrying their own overnight bags with them. "Hey, girls," Jordan greeted.

"What are we doing out here?" Kat asked.

"Oh, nothing, just talking about Jordan's latest encounter with her boyfriend's family."

Jordan gave her bestie a stink eye. "First off, not boyfriend. Second, I was wrong. You are as bad as his sisters when it comes to teasing me."

"What are friends for?"

Jordan wasn't too annoyed by this as her friends started laughing. "Whatever. We're just waiting for Stella now, so let's head inside." The girls all agreed and began to enter the house. Being the last to do so, Jordan was going to close the door until she saw a grey car pull up in front of the house. She watched as Stella stepped out with her stuff and waved to Jordan, then closed the door and waved as who the Rosato assumed to be her mother drove off. When Stella started to walk towards her, Jordan smiled. "Glad you could come."

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me," Stella replied. "Hope I'm not holding everything up."

"Not at all, the others just got here a few seconds ago. Come on in." The Filipina thanked her then entered the house, allowing her host to close the door at last. They headed into the living room, joining the girls on the couch. "So, figured we'd start with the movie. Mom said she'd order pizza for us once the movie was over. What do you girls wanna watch? Horror, comedy or action?"

"Not horror, please," Sadie spoke first with a frown. "Not after last time."

"Well, then, I wouldn't recommend any horrors from my home country," Stella offered. "They make American horror flicks look lame."

While Sadie shuddered at that thought, Jordan intervened before the girl could become more unsettled. "Well, in that case, looks like it's action or comedy. What are you feeling? Who wants action?" She saw Mollie and Kat raise their hands. "Who wants comedy?" Stella, Joy and Sadie all raises their hands. "Comedy it is. You girls pick something, and I'll go grab some popcorn."

"Beat you to it, sis," she heard Jen say as she leapt over the couch and landed on it with a big bowl full of popcorn, causing the younger girls to jump slightly. "Hope you don't mind me joining, not gonna turn down a free movie."

"Fine, but please don't be annoying."

"You know I can't promise this." She laughed as Jordan rolled her eyes, hoping she wouldn't regret this as their night of fun began.


	69. Ch 69- Play Hard

The girls had a good time watching their movie, a recent live action film based on the Pocketmons franchise starring Brian Kimmel as a golden furred talking mouse trying to solve a murder investigation. When some of the girls weren't gushing over how cute the mouse looked, they were laughing at the antics he got up to or making a mess with the popcorn. By the end of the film, the popcorn was gone and everyone was in awe at the heartwarming finish to the story. They talked about it for a while before they heard Mrs Rosato say that the pizza had arrived, so they quickly went into the dining room. They each took their fair share of the cheesy, meat covered delicacy and sodas and made sure not to let any of it go to waste.

"There's nothing better than good pizza," Joy sighed as she put down her now empty soda can.

"Too right," Kat agreed, then looked over to Stella, who still had a big smile on her face. "You okay there, Stella?"

"Uh huh," she blissfully replied. "I've had pizza before, but only ones made by my parents or my grandmother, or the ones at Gus'. Sure, I like my grandmother's pizza, but… this is probably the best pizza I've ever had."

"Well, glad you enjoyed it," Jordan told her, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Anyway, since we're done with dinner, I'm gonna clear this stuff up so mom doesn't get mad, and then I'm gonna get changed. You guys are free to use the bathroom or my bedroom to do the same if you want."

Her guests all seemed to agree with this, getting up from their seats at the dining table and leaving, while Jordan gathered up the plates, cans and pizza boxes, carrying them into the kitchen, where she put the boxes and cans on the counter, before beginning to wash the plates. She turned on the water, letting it heat up just enough before grabbing a sponge, holding it under the running water and putting some dish soap on it. As she began to wash the dishes, she heard someone else enter the kitchen. "Couldn't save any for me?" she heard Jen joke.

"Well, there wouldn't be any left for us if I let you have any."

The older sister faked a gasp at the retort. "Rude!" She could see her little sister's shoulders rise a little with each chuckle, so she smiled. "How come you're doing the washing up?"

"I didn't want to make Mom or Dad do it, and I figured you'd be too busy with high school stuff. Besides, it's my sleepover, so it's my responsibility."

"Very mature, sis. Still, I'll give you a hand." She grabbed a dish towel and began to dry the plates that Jordan put onto the dish rack, then put them away in the cupboard. "So, what are you and your friends gonna get up to?"

"You mean you aren't crashing the rest of the party?" This earner her a soft jab from Jen's elbow. "Hey, come on, don't make me drop this!"

"Fine. But nah, I need to get some work done for my next fashion project." She looked to her sister with a smirk. "You sure you don't want to model for me again?"

"After last time, I'm pretty sure I don't want to see another catwalk again."

"Yeah, I guess. Nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you fall."

"Hey, how do you think I felt?" She put the last dish on the rack and turned off the water, putting the sponge away. "I'm the one that fell." She heard a slight melancholy hum in response, and looking to Jen, she saw that she was looking ahead in deep thought. "Jen, you know it wasn't your fault right? It was an accident, I stepped wrong and I tripped."

"Yeah… while modelling my outfit."

She heard the regret in her big sister's voice, making her frown. "Jen, it's not like you put me in heels. I tripped because I wasn't used to modelling, not because of what I was wearing, and not because you asked me to model for you." She then wrapped her hands around Jen's waist to hug her. "I'm fine, and it wasn't your fault. That's all that matters."

Jen couldn't help but smile, hugging Jordan back. "Thanks, sis… but couldn't you have dried your hands first?" Both girls ended up laughing as they let each other go. "Now, go on. I'll handle the trash, you get back to your sleepover."

"You sure?" The high schooler nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Jen."

"No problem, kiddo." She watched as Jordan walked away, before putting away the last plate. She then grabbed the pizza boxes and sighed. "Man, they ordered my favourite, too."

* * *

It was about ten minutes later when Jordan returned to the living room with her phone in hand, now wearing a white pyjama shirt with a band logo where a pocket would be, yellow pyjama shorts and blue slippers. When she entered the room, she saw that her friends were wearing similar clothes: Mollie had a red pyjama top and brown pyjama trousers, Joy had a purple tank top with pink and black chequered pyjama pants, Kat had a white tank top with black pyjama pants, and Stella was wearing a white pyjama shirt and red pyjama shorts. The odd one out was Sadie, who was wearing a pink onesie with white buttons on the front.

Mollie saw her host return. "Took you long enough," she joked as her friend sat down next to her. "What, couldn't decide what to wear in case-"

"I think I know the end to that sentence, so don't," Jordan cut in, "and if you'll remember, I had to wait for _you _to get changed so that _I _could get changed."

"Whatever, girl. So, what's next on the agenda?"

"Well, there's a game I thought we could play. Give me a second and get your phones out." Most of the other girls were confused by what Jordan was up to, but picked up their phones from the table. Jordan took a minute to set up her home console, eventually putting on a game with the title **Mad Fibs**. "All set."

While the others were still confused, clarity appeared on Stella's face. "Oh! I know this game!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I think I played this when I was at Clyde's sleepover."

"Yeah, I think Lincoln mentioned that. He told me about this game a while back, and when I looked it up, I thought it might be pretty fun."

"Lincoln did, huh?" Joy asked with a smirk, one that was matched by her friends. "Guess you weren't just doing your geography project together, were you?"

Jordan rolled her eyes. "Har, har, Joy. What, I'm not allowed to have fun with a friend? Besides, as interesting as this project was, we would both agree that it would've been boring if we didn't take breaks."

"Yeah, well, you at least got put with someone you can have fun with," Kat argued. "No offence to Lincoln, but his friend Rusty is useless. I've had to pull his weight throughout this whole project. I'm just lucky he didn't try flirting with me."

"He really needs to stop trying so hard with that," Stella admitted. "He's a nice guy, but he is not a charmer."

"I'd imagine if he wasn't friends with Lincoln, he'd probably try flirting with Jordan, too," Joy added, to which Jordan sighed.

"Wouldn't be the first time. Anyway, are we gonna play this or what?"

"Sure, but how do we play?"

"It's easy. Just search that website, enter the code, and your phone will tell you what to do." The girls all did just that, using the website and the code to join the game, each putting in a nickname. Once she had checked that they were all in, Jordan told her friends, "alright, here we go," before she started the game. The announcer for the game explained that the game worked by players adding possible answers to weird facts, and then trying to guess what the real answer was from amongst the possible answers, which included the other players' answers. They would score points if people picked their answer, and if they picked the right answer. After Mollie chose a topic, the first question appeared on screen:

**A Swedish man who worked as a dishwasher received disability benefits for his weird addiction to _**

"A dishwasher with a weird addiction?" Kat asked, mostly just to herself as she thought of a possible answer. They all took their time with thinking of answers, but managed to answer before the time was up, and the answers appeared on the screen:

**Sweden**

**Heavy Metal Music**

**Knives**

**Dish soap**

**APPA**

**Bacon**

**Bubbles**

The girls laughed at how ridiculous some of the answers were. "How can a Swedish person be addicted to Sweden?!" Jordan said in hysteria.

"Same way a dishwasher can be addicted to dish soap, I guess," Stella laughed.

After the initial hysterics settled down, they each guessed what they thought the real answer would be. The first answer was **Bubbles**, which was selected by Joy, but the game revealed that this was the answer Mollie had inserted.

"Ha! Got one!" she cheered, while Joy simply rolled her eyes. She then saw that she, along with Jordan, Stella and Sadie had all chosen **Dish Soap**. "I think we've got it."

Kat, on the other hand, simply smirked as the game revealed that she had inserted that answer. "Unlucky!" She boasted as the four girls looked at her in shock. "You'll see that the real answer is actually…"

She watched smugly as the game showed that she had selected **Bacon**, but her grin dropped when she saw that it was Stella who came up with that answer, the Filipina looking happy with putting her down. "Nope! So, what was it then?" Everyone watched curiously as the game revealed that the correct answer was actually** Heavy Metal Music**, making them all burst out laughing again. "No way!"

"That's a pretty cool addiction," Jordan couldn't help but admit as the scores appeared on screen. "Well, Kat you're in the lead."

"And I plan to keep it that way."

* * *

The game lasted a good twenty minutes, with the girls learning weird facts such as how a university in Canada taught **The Science of Batman**, and how a restaurant in California served food on iPads. Eventually, Kat won the game, and they played a couple of similar games that came with it: a drawing game that was won by Stella, and a horror party game that was won by Jordan. Once that was done, they decided it was time to move onto something else.

"So, what do you girls want to do next?" Jordan asked.

"Well, we could always do truth or dare," Kat suggested, which was well received from everyone but the host, who bore an uncertain frown on her face. "What?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Remember what happened last time we played that at one of our sleepovers?"

"Oh, come on, Jordan! That was one time, and it wasn't even that bad."

"Mollie, that stain _still_ hasn't come out of my shirt."

"Well, we could always have a pillow fight instead. Remember how _that _went last time?"

Jordan looked at her friend blankly for a few seconds, considering the compromise, before sighing. "Fine, we can play truth or dare." Her friends gave a cheer, but she quickly cut it off. "But! A couple of ground rules. First, everything that is said and done stays in this room. No telling anyone anything, and any dares must happen here. No repeats of when you made Sadie tell Rusty she liked his cologne."

The girl in question shuddered at the memory. "That was so embarrassing."

"Also, nothing food based. No one wants to be sick on a weekend." The girls all nodded to agree. "So, does anyone want to go first?"

Stella shot her hand up. "Actually, I have an idea! Do you have some paper I can write on?"

"Uh, yeah, in my room. Actually, we should head upstairs, anyway. It'll be getting late soon." So, they followed the hostess up to her room, where they all sat in a circle on the white carpeted floor. Jordan walked over to her desk and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper, which she then gave to Stella. "What did you have in mind?"

"Give me a second." She began to draw something down, using her leg as a rest to do so. The others all looked to each other, wondering what she was up to, before she eventually finished writing. "There we go." She put down the paper, revealing that she had drawn a circle split in eight segments. Two segments had the word **all** written in them, while the other segments had the girls' names. "We'll go clockwise. This way, we won't end up asking the same person every time, and sometimes we can ask something to everyone."

Though she didn't think it was a perfect system, Jordan couldn't help but agree with her friends that it was a good idea. "That's pretty clever, Stella. Since you thought of it, why don't you go first?"

"Okay!" She took the pen and spun it on top of the paper, everyone watching with intrigue as it eventually slowed down to a stop. "Mollie! Truth or dare?"

"You seem nice, Stella," she thought aloud. "Let's see how nice you are. I'll take a dare."

The others were very invested in this decision, while Stella simply smirked. "Okay, let me see. How about… ooh! I know!" She got up and walked over to her bag, reaching in and pulling out a pair of earphones. "You have to listen to a song of my choosing for thirty seconds."

"Is that all? Bring it."

"As you wish." She put the earphones in her phone and allowed Mollie to out the earphones in her ears. While she waited for the song to start, Stella showed Jordan and Kat what she was going to play, making them titter and gasp. "Alright, Mollie. Three… two… one… go."

She pressed play, and Mollie's confident smirk instantly melted away as the music began to play, making her grimace. Jordan and Kat both told Sadie and Joy what was being played, and they joined their friends in giggling. Mollie bit her lip, refusing to scream as the song continued to play in her ears. She fought to resist it, but it was testing her mental strength. Eventually, the thirty seconds played out, and Stella stopped the music.

"Have I gone deaf?!" Mollie shouted, prompting Kat to lean over and pull the headphones out for her.

"No, the dare's over," she assured her friend.

"Thanks." She then looked to Stella with a pout. "Maybe you're not so nice." Stella stuck her tongue out in response, so Mollie grabbed the pen. "Anyway, it's my turn now." She spun the pen on the paper, this time landing on Sadie. "Alright, truth or dare, girl?"

"Truth," Sadie quickly answered, making Mollie groan.

"If this is for the fish dare, I told you I was sorry. Oh, well. In that case, I've got a good question. What's the most embarrassing thing you've said to a teacher?"

She blushed a little as the answer came to her head. "W-well… it would probably be in third grade, when I accidentally… called my teacher dad." Some of the girls sympathised with their friend, though a couple of them had to hold back chuckles. "Gee, thanks."

"Don't worry, Sadie," Jordan assured her as she took hold of the pen. "It's not that bad." Her friend smiled at the support before she took her turn. The pen spun round and round on top of the paper, until it landed on one of the two **all** segments. "Ooh, we've got one for everybody!" Turning to Stella, she asked, "so, what happens now?"

"Well, I guess you get to decide whether you ask a truth or give a dare."

"Okay. Let's see…" As an idea came to mind, her eyes lit up. "Hope you don't mind if I ask you to answer first, Stella. Who is the cutest boy in our grade?"

A collective "Ooh" filled the room as Stella's eyes widened. "Oh! Uh… I'll be honest, I never thought much about that,"

"Well, we're in no hurry," Joy smugly argued. "Now's your chance."

The new girl of the group chuckled a bit. "I guess you're right. Well… most of the boys seem nice, but… I dunno, I guess Trent is kinda cute."

"Yeah, Trent's okay," Kat agreed, "but I think Richie's cuter."

She got a nod of agreement from Mollie and Joy. "Really?" Sadie spoke. "I agree with Stella, I think Trent's cute."

Mollie saw that Kat was going to grab the pen, but she stopped her. "Hang on a second. Someone hasn't answered yet."

Everyone looked to Jordan, who blinked. "What? I don't have to answer, it was my question."

"Actually, it was a question for all of us," Joy pointed out. "I think that should include the person asking it."

"No way, that's not fair. Right, Stella?"

"Well… actually, I agree with Mollie and Joy."

"Raise your hand if you agree that Jordan should have to answer as well." After she raised her hand, Mollie saw that everyone but the girl in question agreed with her. "It's agreed. Spill it."

The host of the sleepover sighed, bowing her head. "Wish we could've decided that before we started…" She lifted her head again, seeing that everyone was looking at her with burning interest. "Fine, but do not get the wrong idea. I think the cutest boy in our grade is… Lincoln." She felt a blush appear on her cheeks as her friends gasped and giggled. "Alright, that's all you're getting from me, you hear? Joy, it's your go."

"Aww, but…" Joy saw the small glare Jordan gave her and resigned. "Fine." She took the pen and span it around, waiting until it landed. "Well, looks like it's Jordan! Truth or dare?"

"Um… I'm gonna risk a dare."

'Dang it,', the shorter girl mentally sighed, before thinking of what her dare could be. "Alright, in that case… got it! You have to show us a picture of you and Lincoln!"

Once again, a collective "Ooh" filled the room, this time with Jordan looking embarrassed. "Seriously? I don't even have any pictures with Lincoln."

"Oh, really? So, you didn't take a picture with him when you were in that fashion show?"

"Or when you were doing the geography project together?"

"Or when he invited you to the arcade?"

"Or what about-"

"Alright, fine! Fine! I'll show you one picture, and that's it." The others grew excited as she grabbed her phone and began searching through her pictures. 'Which one are they likely to tease me the least for?' Eventually, she settled on one. "Okay, you get five seconds to look, and that's it."

"Come on, show us already!" Jordan rolled her eyes at Joy's blunt request, but obliged. She first had her hand over the screen, but pulled it away, revealing a selfie she has taken with Lincoln at her Halloween party. They were both in their costumes and smiling, making the girls coo. "That's a good picture! Was that so difficult?"

"Maybe," Jordan muttered as she put her phone on her desk. "At least now I might get a break." As if fate had heard her, though, she sat down again as Sadie spun the pen and it ended on her name again. "Oh, come on!"

Most of the girls were laughing at the surprising turn of events, whilst Sadie raised her hands in defence. "I didn't mean for that! I swear!"

With a slight grunt, Jordan crossed her arms. "Whatever, fine. Go on, I'll take a… truth, I guess."

All eyes were on the onesie-clad girl as she thought of a question to ask, then hesitated to ask it. "Well… why do you think Lincoln's the cutest?" She received a look from the girl she had asked, as if to say "seriously", but Sadie didn't change her mind. "Just one thing, that's all. What is it about Lincoln that you find cute?"

Jordan was resisting the urge to fume at her friends. She had agreed to the game, and she knew that if she didn't answer now, she'd get asked by them at some other time. With a sigh, she answered them. "His smile. It's… infectious." Even as she said this, she couldn't help but smile in spite of what she was being made to do. "He has one of those smiles that can always cheer me up." She didn't hear anything for a few seconds, and when she looked up, she saw that her friends were resisting the urge to gush. "Alright, you got what you wanted. Kat, it's your turn."

"Okay, fine." She took the pen and spun it, her friend silently hoping that it wouldn't land on her again, and eventually the pen landed on Stella again. "Your turn, new girl. Truth or dare?"

"I'll take a dare."

The raven haired girl thought for a few seconds, trying to think of a good dare, then whispered something to Mollie, who vigorously nodded her approval. Kat returned her sights to Stella. "Here's your dare. You have to call Lincoln, and ask him if there's anyone he has a crush on."

"What?! I can't do that!"

"Stella's right, that's too far, Kat," Jordan scolded. "We agreed that everything would be kept in here."

"So? We're not leaving, we're just calling someone! Besides, aren't you curious?"

"It's not my place to know that! I-" She struggled to find the words she wanted to say, her frustrations getting the better of her. "You know what? I'm gonna go grab some water, I'll be back."

Her friends tried to call her back, but Jordan went straight out of her bedroom and downstairs, where she quickly found herself in the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up at the sink, turning the water off before it overflowed. As she drank down some of the water, she sighed out of frustration. 'So much for a fun night,' she thought to herself.

"Jordan?" Turning around, she saw that Stella near the doorway, walking towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… the game kind of stopped being fun."

"I saw. Sorry about that."

This confused the Rosato girl. "Why are you sorry?"

"If I hadn't suggested we do it that way I did, this wouldn't have happened."

She couldn't help but smile at the apology. "Stella, you're too nice, you know that? It's not your fault things happened like that, and I'm pretty sure my friends would've asked those questions anyway." She looked away as she then added, "wouldn't be the first time."

Stella noticed the inflection in her voice as she said this. "Jordan, you don't have to answer this, but… do you… have a crush on Lincoln?"

Jordan looked back at the girl, who was basically her newest friend, and considered whether or not to answer her. She took another drink as she thought, then answered. "I might have a… small crush on him. Not big enough that I would consider asking him out, but… big enough that I always look forward to hanging out with him. He's become a good friend of mine. I wouldn't want to ruin that." She left it at that for a moment, before looking at the Filipina. "You won't, uh… Y'know…"

Stella smiled, doing a zipping motion with her hand over her lips. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks, Stella." She gave her a hug which she returned in kind, both appreciative for the little talk they had, when Jordan noticed Mollie standing nervously by the door. "Mollie? Were you listening?"

"Not… intentionally."

Stella and Jordan released the hug, turning to face the sudden arrival. "So, how much did you hear?"

"Oh, you know, just… everything from Stella asking if you had a crush on Lincoln." She saw her friend roll her eyes, so she quickly added, "don't worry, we won't tell anyone."

She realised her mistake when she heard complaining behind her, making her step aside to reveal that the others were with her. Joy quickly stepped forward before things could get worse. "We weren't here to spy on you, I swear. We just came to apologise."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to take it that far," Kat told her friend. "We just got… excited, you know?"

"Still, we shouldn't have pushed it that far," Sadie acknowledged. "We're really sorry, you two."

The others all said that they were sorry as well, to which the hostess smiled. "Guys, it's fine," she assured them. "I should've known you would ask that stuff, and I know you wouldn't ask if you didn't care."

"So… you forgive us?" After a quick look to Stella, Jordan nodded, making Joy and the others sigh in relief. "Thanks, girl. So, shall we do something instead of truth or dare? I think we've all had enough of that."

"Sure. You guys head back up, I'll join you in a second." They nodded to her and left her be, and as she finished off her drink, she couldn't help but think, 'looks like tonight was alright, after all.'


	70. Ch 70- Open Air, Open Mind, Open Heart

**(A/N: hey everyone! Sorry that this upload came so late! This was partly because I wasn't sure how to write different parts of this chapter, and also because I've been trying to figure out where the story is going after the next ten chapters or so. However, the main reason is that I finally finished my dissertation for university, meaning that I have now finished my education. It's been a big three years, and I feel like I finally know what I want to do with my life now. Whether or not that actually comes true, only time will tell, but I'm gonna try my best to keep active on here whatever happens. For the rest of this month, I should hopefully be reasonably regular with uploads, but in July I'm gonna start working on something that I may let you guys know about if anything comes of it.**

**Also, I want to thank Mojimifan Low-Ki and cabgrant for their honesty in their reviews. I appreciate every review I get, but I also want you guys to be honest with me about this story. I want it to be something we all enjoy, so if you have any constructive criticism, then please let me know. No flaming, of course, but do let me know if there's any issue that you think needs fixing, and I will take it into consideration.**

**Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!) **

For Lincoln, Saturday was once again spent at home. The girls had made other plans, meaning that they wouldn't be going to the mall, and the sole boy of the family had no qualms with that whatsoever. He didn't need anything for himself, he was saving his money for his Christmas shopping and he didn't particularly want to spend the start of his weekend looking after Lily while his sisters went looking at clothes, accessories and whatever else in their own directions. Instead, he got to relax in his room as he played his newest game, read his comics and altogether just took it easy.

After he finished his peanut butter, jelly and sauerkraut sandwiches and washed his dishes, he made his way to the couch and decided to watch some television for a while. He noticed that, of his sisters that were still in the house- those being Lynn, the twins, Lisa and Lily- he hadn't encountered any of them for at least a good hour. Sure, he could hear them from the upper floor, but the house was somewhat quiet for once, in a way that made the boy feel serene. At one point, however, he felt as though someone was watching, so he looked over his shoulder towards the staircase. Though he thought he saw someone, whoever it might have been moved out of his line of sight too quickly for him to be sure. He shrugged it off and returned to watching the TV, not wanting to let it bother him.

It was a few minutes later that he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, so he glanced again in order to see that it was the eldest of the twins. "Hey, Lana."

"Hey, Lincoln," she greeted back. "Is Mom in her room?"

"I think I saw her in the kitchen with Lily."

"Thanks."

Once the girl had disappeared into the kitchen, Lincoln resumed watching his show. Part of him wondered what his little sister was up to, but he knew that it wasn't his business, so he didn't think any further about it. He simply sat back and watched the cartoon play out, ignoring the footsteps that Lana made as she went back upstairs. It wasn't until someone else entered the room that he moved again.

"Lincoln?" He heard his mother ask, causing him to sit up and turn his body so he could see her with Lily in her arms, the infant now asleep. "Could you do me a favour?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Lana and Lola want to go to the park for a bit. Your father's currently at work, I need to look after Lily, and Lana asked Lynn, but she's busy working on her schoolwork. I told her that if she fails her next test, she won't be able to go to roller derby practice."

"Whatever gets her motivated, I guess," he joked, though no smile came to his face, a fact his mother quickly picked up on. She sat down next to him, putting Lily safely on her lap and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lincoln, I know I'm asking you a lot, but please. Do it for me. You don't have to play with them if you don't want to, just make sure they're safe while they're there and bring them home. Can you do that for me?"

As much as the boy wanted to say no, he knew that it would be wrong for him to say no to his mother's request. He also didn't want to upset Lana, especially after they had made up the other night. Giving a sigh, he turned the tv off and placed the remote on the coffee table. "What time should I bring them back?"

Rita smiled, pecking a kiss on her son's head. "Thank you, Lincoln. Just let them play until they get tired or want to come home, and then bring them home. Lana said she was going to take Charles for a walk while they were out, and that she would handle any of his business. Just make sure they have their coats, and you have yours. It's going to be cold out."

"Okay, Mom."

She smiled as she stood up. "I'll think of something nice to make this up to you, sweetie."

He let her walk away to put Lily down for her nap, then got up from the couch with a slight groan. 'Might as well get this over with.' He grabbed his coat from the coat hanger near the front door and put it on, then made his way upstairs. He quickly popped into his room, grabbing his earphones and putting them in his coat pocket with his phone, then walked over to the twins' bedroom door. Giving a knock, he waited until he heard Lana call out to him.

"Come in!" Once he opened the door, Lincoln saw the animal lover knelt down on the floor, scratching Charles' belly, whilst Lola was simply sat on her bed. "Hey, Lincoln! What's up?"

"Mom said you two wanted to go to the park, so I'm gonna take you."

Lana's smile grew. "Thanks, Lincoln!"

"Don't mention it. If you want to go, we should leave soon, so grab your coats. Lana, make sure you get Charles' leash and his poop bags in case he does his business while we're out. Lola… just make sure you have anything you need. When you're ready, meet me downstairs."

"Okay!" He nodded to the girls, then went downstairs and waited by the door. Taking them out of his pocket, he plugged his earphones into his phone and put them in his ears. He started to scroll through his music, trying to decide what to listen to when they left. He only had to wait a minute for his sisters to come down the stairs, Lana holding onto Charles by his leash and holding a tennis ball in her other hand. "Alright, grab your coats, and we'll go." As his sisters obeyed him, he looked and saw his mother coming down the stairs. "We're heading out."

She smiled at them. "Alright, have fun and be safe!" she told her kids before they walked out the front door, the boy closing the door behind him. 'I hope everything goes alright.'

* * *

The girls and Lincoln walked for about fifteen minutes to get to the park. While Lana was as talkative as ever, both Lincoln and Lola were relatively quiet, only really speaking if Lana said something to them or they noticed something. Lincoln wasn't really talking because he didn't particularly want to be there. He loved his sisters, and nothing could make him question that, but he had been hoping for a quiet Saturday. Lola, on the other hand, he wasn't sure why she was being quiet, but he didn't put too much thought into it and simply assumed she was saving her energy for when she got to the park.

Eventually, they reached the park, which was relatively empty for a Saturday. There were the odd group of people walking through, like a young adult couple walking arm in arm, a small family feeding the ducks at the pond and a couple of high schoolers tossing a football back and forth, but it was quite peaceful for once. The air was cool, the breeze was faint and the sky was cloudy, the weather serving as a sign that winter was beginning to take over their town.

"Alright, girls, we're here," Lincoln told them as they entered through the gate. "I'm gonna sit down on that bench over there, so try and stay in my sight and let me know if you need anything. You okay with that?"

"Yes, Lincoln!" both girls replied, with Lana adding, "why don't you play with us?"

"Nah, you girls are okay, I'm just gonna sit and listen to some music for a while."

"Okay." So, while Lincoln sat down at the nearby bench, Lana and Lola walked onto the grass with Charles. The former of the two turned to her twin. "So, what gives?"

"What do you mean?"

"Loles, the whole reason we're here was so I could walk Charles and so you could speak to Lincoln. Don't you want him to know you're sorry?"

"Of course, I do! I just…" The younger twin looked down, feeling doubt fill her mind. "I don't know how to do it. Besides, he didn't exactly sound like he wanted to speak to me."

"He will. You'll be fine, just talk to him."

"You're sure? I'm starting to think this was a mistake."

The tomboy could hear her sister's worry as she spoke, and as much as she wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, she knew she had felt the same way as she did when she tried to speak to her brother. She also knew that she had somewhat different reasons for wanting to make up for her mistakes, and that Lola couldn't just say the same things she had said.

Still, she knew that her twin needed reassuring, so she decided to be honest with her. "Lola, trust me. I know you're worried he's gonna yell at you, but he won't. Just tell him you're sorry, be honest with him and you'll be fine." Lola gave a small nod, but Lana could tell that she wasn't fully assured. As she thought about what else she could tell her, she looked down and saw Charles moving around, which gave her an idea. "Come here."

Lola stepped towards her twin, who whispered something into her ear. When she was done, Lola looked her in the eyes and asked, "are you sure?"

"Trust me on this."

Though still feeling some doubt in her mind, she nodded. Lana then began to lead Charles towards some trees, while Lola walked over to the bench where Lincoln was sat. Seeing the girl approach him, Lincoln took his earphones out. "I thought you two were playing together," he spoke. "Where's Lana?"

"Charles needed to… do his business," she explained, sitting down next to her brother. "She said she would be a minute or two."

"Oh, okay."

Before he could put his earphones back in, Lola cut in. "Um, Linky? Could… could we talk?"

His eyes widened at the request, his hands returning to his pockets as he gave her his full attention. "Sure, Lola. What's up?"

"W-well…" She tried to think about how to start talking, but the words kept catching in her throat. 'Dang it, why is this so hard?' she thought. 'There's gotta be some way I can tell him, right?'

Lincoln could see the conflicted expression on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah, just… trying to figure out what to say."

"Well, just take it easy, alright? No rush."

She nodded, taking a second to think. "Well… do you remember… the True Sweetie Pageant?"

He put a hand to his chin, trying to recall what she was talking about. "Um… was that the one you tried to enter when you had toothache?"

"No, that was the Little Gumdrop Pageant. The True Sweetie Pageant was the third pageant I ever entered. It was my first win, and the first one I entered after I started school." As he remembered, the boy nodded along, not looking away from his sister. "Well, do you remember how, on my second day of school, you found me… crying?"

The last word cleared up the memory for her big brother, his eyes softening at it. "Oh, yeah. You said that some kids in your class had picked on you."

She nodded, trying not to get too emotional at the thought of it. "Yeah… I had said that I did pageants, and I had heard some of them say that I was too ugly for pageants."

"And when you weren't there with the others when dad arrived with the van, I went to go find you. You were in the playground by yourself."

"Do you remember what you told me, to cheer me up?"

"Um… it was something along the lines of… um…"

She could see he was struggling, so she decided to help him out. "You told me that I was beautiful inside and out, and as long I enjoyed myself in my pageants, then everyone would see that." She looked down as she then added, "I hadn't thought about that day in a long time… until recently."

Lincoln was going to say something, but whatever he originally had in mind went unsaid as he thought of something else. "Lola… is this about… what happened on Sunday?"

She sadly nodded, not wanting to meet his gaze in fear of what his expression might be. "Had you not spoken to me that day, I might have quit pageanting, but you reminded me that I do pageanting because I enjoy it. Not just to win, and not because of what other people think… but, when you told us that you did gymnastics, I was no better than those… stupid, smelly, dumb girls who said I was too ugly for pageanting." Her voice was beginning to waver slightly, her breathing now shaky as her eyes began to water. "N-no wonder you didn't tell us when you first started. W-we weren't fair, we were- were horrible! We laughed, a-and laughed, a-and we…"

Lincoln could hear her getting more upset by the second, and he didn't want his sister to have a panic attack over this, so he did what a god brother would do. He wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close and used his other hand to hold her head against his chest, allowing her to hold him as she began to cry. She began apologising to him, saying over and over that she was sorry and shaking her head.

"Shhh… it's okay, it's okay," he whispered to her, lifting her slightly so she could sit on his lap and he could hold her closer. "It's okay." He began to stroke her hair as he continued to gently shush her, assuring her that she was okay as she continued to cry, not caring about her tears on his coat. She was his priority in that moment, and making sure she was okay was all that was on his mind. He eventually felt her stop shaking her head, her sobs subsiding as well. When he was sure that she had stopped, he loosened the hug so she could look up at him. "You okay?"

She sniffled out a "yeah", wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "But, I don't get it. Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Lola, don't get me wrong. I was mad at you girls when it happened, but I haven't been mad since then. What matters is that you're sorry, and I can tell you mean it."

"I do, Linky."

"I know you do. That's why I can say this: I forgive you, Lola."

She gave a small gasp. "You forgive me?" When he nodded, she couldn't hide the smile that grew on her lips, and she reached her arms up to wrap around his neck in a gentle hug that he was happy to return. "Thank you, Linky."

"It's okay, Lola."

The two continued to hug it out, neither noticing that Lana was watching from by the trees with a smile on her face. 'There you go, Lola,' she thought to herself, then looked down to Charles. "Come on, boy." They walked over to the two Louds on the bench, who took notice of this. "Charles just needed to take a leak, so we can continue playing now."

"Okay," Lola told her, then turned to Lincoln. "You sure you don't want to play with us?"

"Well…" He saw the way that she was smiling at him, and it wasn't with the usual puppy dog eyes she would use if she wanted someone to do something for her. Instead, she simply looked hopeful, and he couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I'll play." Both girls cheered as Lola jumped off of her brother and followed after her twin and their dog, leaving Lincoln to chuckle as he got to his feet and went after them as well. 'I can listen to music later.'

* * *

So, they spent a good hour at the park, playing games together and enjoying their time outside. Though Lincoln hadn't originally been happy when his mother asked him to accompany the twins to the park, he couldn't complain about it after having fun with them, and more importantly, after he and Lola had made up. He smiled the entire walk back, even after Lola asked if she could ride on his shoulders and Lana took a piggyback ride at the same time.

"Hey, Lincoln?" he heard Lola ask as they neared home.

"Yeah, Lola?" he replied.

"Do you think that, maybe sometime, you could show me some of your gymnastics moves?"

"Really? I thought you said that your kind of gymnastics was superior to mine?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing from his tone that he was joking. "I never said it was superior, but yeah. Ribbon dancing is different to vaults and beams, and I thought it might be kinda cool to see some of your moves."

Lincoln smiled at the idea. "That sounds like fun. I'd say you could show me some of your moves, though I think I've seen most of them in your pageants."

"Probably," they heard Lana cut in, causing Lola to roll her eyes before joining her brother and sister in chuckling. Eventually, they reached the porch, so Lincoln bent his knees to allow the twins to jump down. "Thanks for taking us to the park, Linky."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Linky."

He smiled, patting both of them on the head. "No problem, girls. Now, come on, let's get inside before it gets any colder."

They both agreed, following the boy in through the front door. After they took off their coats, Lincoln went upstairs to his room, while the twins decided to take advantage of the fact that the couch was free and put some TV on. "So, what are we watching?"

"You choose," Lola insisted. "I don't mind?"

The grease monkey raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're not gonna insist we watch your show?"

"Nah. Besides, you helped me get over myself today, and I now know that Linky's not mad at me. I'd probably have been too scared to talk to him if you hadn't come up with the idea to go to the park."

"What, Lincoln's the only one who can think of a plan?" She chuckled for herself, before putting a hand on her twin's shoulder. "But, yeah, I knew how scared it was when I tried to apologise, and I wanted to help you."

Lola smiled, both twins moving at once into a hug. "Thanks, Lana."

"Anytime, Lola."


	71. Ch 71- Project Day

When Monday came around, Lincoln found himself walking to school early once again, hands in his coat pockets and earphones in his ears. He had his bag on his back, which was heavier than usual, but he paid it no mind. He simply walked to school with his music playing, keeping it low enough for him to keep aware. It had never been a long walk from Franklin Avenue to Royal Woods Elementary School, so he quickly found himself at the front doors to the school, wasting no time in getting out of the cold. He smiled as the warmth of the school's heating washed over him, but knew he had things to do before class started.

His first stop was his locker, where he put some of his belongings in it, along with his coat. Once he had done this, he closed the locker and began to head towards the library, his ends destination. Along the way, he saw the door to Principal Huggins' office opening, the balding man entering from it. Seeing the white haired boy, he approached him. "Ah, Lincoln!" he greeted. "Good morning."

"Good morning, sir."

"I got your request that you sent, so my apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I'll admit, it's an unusual one, but if it's for the benefit of your education, then I can allow it this once. Just make sure they know that I approved of this."

The boy's smile grew. "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure everything is up to standard in the gymnasium."

The man walked away, allowing Lincoln to walk the other direction to the library. Given that it was still early in the morning, there were only a couple of people there, including the librarian and a couple of other early students reading some books. He saw that there were no computers taken, so he walked over to one of them and sat down in front of it. He logged into the computer, and as it began to load, he pulled his phone out and decided to change the song that was playing, his eyes closing as he let the music take over him.

Of course, this meant that he wasn't aware of the new arrival in the library. Jordan has just arrived, and as she walked into the quiet room, she saw the boy sat in his chair, his head bopping slightly to the beat he was listening to. She grinned as she walked over to the boy, keeping out of his line of sight until she was right next to him. She was going to tap him on the shoulder, but he seemed to sense the presence, turning to see her and removing one earphone. "Hey, Jordan."

She playfully pouted as she replied, "no fair. I wanted to surprise you."

He smirked. "I have ten sisters, including one who has a habit of appearing from out of nowhere and scaring all of us. You're gonna have to try harder if you want to jump me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Her smile came back as she sat down at the computer next to him. "So, you have everything on your memory stick, right?" He reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a grey memory stick and holding it up. "Yes, Lincoln, that is a memory stick."

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny." He plugged it into the computer and opened up the PowerPoint, the one that they had finished the previous Friday. "Okay, so everything is as we left it. Did you have anything that you wanted to add?"

"I couldn't think of anything, so unless you have anything you want to add, I'm fine with just checking to make sure everything's okay."

"Yeah, I didn't really have anything either, so let's just check it over and- Oh! Before I forget, at lunchtime, I need to speak with Principal Huggins about something, so I won't be in the cafeteria for lunch."

"Okay." As they began going over what they had, Jordan noticed that Lincoln still had his earphone in. "What are you listening to?"

"Hmm? Oh, right." He pulled his phone out to turn off his music. "Kinda forgot I had my music on."

She giggled. "Could you not hear it or something?"

"It just kind of became background noise for a second." She gave another giggle, making him raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just… I didn't know you were that into music."

"I'm not especially, but since I've been walking to school for this past week or so, I've just gotten used to having music on. It makes the journey more enjoyable."

"Yeah, I feel that. I do the same whenever I have a long car journey."

"I typically just read a comic or talk with my sisters. The only time I really listen to music in the car is if I'm listening with Luna. I'd probably say half of the songs on my phone are by bands that Luna introduced me to."

"Let me guess, the other half are songs from video games."

"Pretty much." They shared a low chuckle, which turned to sniggering when they noticed the mild glare the librarian gave them. "Still, sounds like you and Luna have something to bond over."

"Yeah, we… we do…"

She heard how his voice trailed off, looking at his face to see him looking distantly with a slight frown on his face. "Oh… I, uh… sorry."

He shook his head, smiling once again. "Don't be, it's fine. I mean, yeah, I haven't made up with any more of my sisters since Saturday, but I'm still hopeful that I'll make up with the others. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

"I understand, and they will. What's more important is that they realise how much it means to you, and they support that. Give them a chance, and they'll show that." His smile grew slightly, his gaze not leaving her. "What?"

"You know, even though things haven't always been smooth… I'm really glad you're my friend, Jordan."

Her heart melted a little at hearing this, her smile beaming. "Aww! That's really sweet, Lincoln. I'm really glad you're my friend too."

"Thanks."

"You too. Now, come on, let's get this done or else we're gonna get kicked out for talking too loud."

"Right."

* * *

The day passed by pretty quickly for the Loud boy and the Rosato girl. Their morning geography work was over with quickly, so they chatted until the first bell rang. They headed into their classroom, and the first lessons of the day were over with relatively quickly. Recess came and went, another class was endured, and lunchtime finally arrived. While Lincoln went off to do his thing, Jordan joined her friends in the cafeteria, and was unsurprisingly met with questions as to the white haired boy's whereabouts. She simply told them that she didn't know, though she would be lying to say that she didn't wonder what he was up to as well.

This curiosity only grew after lunchtime was over, and she returned to class with her friends. As the sixth graders filled the classroom and took their seats, she saw that Lincoln was one f the last to make it, a slight amount of sweat on his brow as if he had been running.

"Hey," he greeted her as he sat down, "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, Mrs Johnson isn't here yet, you're fine," she told him with a bemused grin. "Where were you?"

"I was doing that thing for Principal Huggins. It took me a little longer than I thought, and I was on the other side of the school. I kinda ran to make sure I wasn't late."

"Yeah, I can tell. What were you doing, anyway?"

"Well…" Before he could say anything else, everyone heard the door open, all turning to see Mrs Johnson enter. "I'll tell you later."

"Alright, everyone!" the teacher announced. "Sorry I'm late, the teacher's lounge was chaos. Never get between Mr Grahams and his doughnuts." Most of the students looked confused by this statement, with a couple whispering to each other, "who's Mr Grahams," but the female teacher paid it no mind. "Anywho, it's time for geography, and as you all should be aware, today is the deadline for your travel presentation project. You've had two weeks to work on this, and I've been monitoring what you've achieved in class, but now it's time for you to present your work."

"Mrs Johnson?" Cookie asked. "Are you going to be marking us based on our delivery?"

"Thank you for bringing that up, Cookie. I realise that some of you might not be confident about speaking, so as long as what you're saying is clear and makes sense, then you'll be okay. I'm going to be marking based on what you're going to be talking about and your overall presentation." She saw that some of the students were relieved by this. "I'll give you all five minutes to make any preparations, and then we'll begin."

So, the class all took the opportunity to check everything over and make sure they were ready to present, before Mrs Johnson began the presentations. She first had Artie and Liam giving a decent presentation about Germany, which was followed by Sadie doing her best to give a presentation about Spain without kneeing Rusty in the groin every time he talked about Spanish women. Mrs Johnson, though she didn't say anything, gave Sadie a slightly higher grade for putting up with this, before then calling for Clyde and Chloe. They gave their presentation on France, with Clyde handing out some French cookies known as 'sable breton', which he had made with his dads on the weekend.

"Thank you very much, Clyde and Chloe!" Mrs Johnson announced once they finished their presentation, still munching on her cookie as she and the other students applauded them. "That was a very well prepared presentation. Up next, we will be looking at Italy, so Lincoln and Girl Jordan, you are up."

The two kids in question nodded, getting up and allowing Clyde to take his memory stick out of the computer before Lincoln put his in, opening up the PowerPoint. Once they were ready and their classmates were settled, they faced the class and smiled.

"Ciao, e benvenuti nella bellissima Italia!" Jordan announced first.

"That means hello, and welcome to beautiful Italy!" Lincoln clarified. "Home to more than sixty million people, Italy is a country filled with beautiful landscapes and is rich in culture and history. Today, we're going to be showing you just some of what this amazing country as to offer."

Once Lincoln changed the slide, Jordan continued. "As Lincoln mentioned, Italy is home to over sixty million people, the fourth highest population of any country in Europe behind the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Until recently, it was also the healthiest country in the world, with an average life expectancy of eighty three years." She pointed to the map displayed on the screen. "Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, with sea borders by the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that there are plenty of beaches and boating locations for people to enjoy."

Lincoln changed the slide again. "The first city in Italy we're going to talk about is a place called Turin, which is in the Northwest of Italy. The city used to be the capital of Italy, but this only lasted a few years before the title was given to Florence, and later Rome. The city is known particularly for two things. Firstly, the city is known for its automotive industry, which is home to car manufacturers such as Fiat and Carrozzeria, and has been considered the Detroit of Italy. The other thing that Turin is known for is sports- in particular, soccer. While Italy has achieved four soccer World Cup victories, Turin is home to two national teams: Torino FC and Juventus. The two teams are rivals, and have varying degrees of success. While Torino FC have won the country's top league seven times and come second seven times, Juventus have one the Serie A an amazing thirty five times, and been runners up an additional twenty one times, cementing them as one of the best teams of all time in Europe."

Jordan waited for Lincoln to change the slide a third time. "While Turin has a large sporting heritage, Milan is known more for its artistic culture. The city is known for its opera and is home to La Scala, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. However, Milan is most widely known for its design and particularly its fashion, being considered one of the fashion capitals of the world. The city hosts Milan Fashion Week twice every year for fashion companies to showcase their latest fashion designs, and is home to such companies as Gucci, Armani and Dolce and Gabbana."

"Is that where your next fashion show is?!" a random boy at the back of the class shouted out, causing laughter from some of the students whilst Lincoln and Jordan rolled their eyes, lightly blushing.

"Settle down!" Mrs Johnson spoke out, her raised voice settling their laughter. "Let them present without interruption, okay?" She turned to Lincoln and Jordan and told them, "continue."

Lincoln nodded before changing the slide. "The next city I'll be talking about, and one of the most well known cities in Italy, is Venice. Right by the Mediterranean Sea, Venice is known as the City of Water, among other things. This is also helped by the Venetian gondolas, a type of rowboat that is commonly used by tourists and citizens alike as means of travel. As the gondoliers row you along the waterways of Venice, it's a great way to relax and see the city. Of course, Venice is also known for many festivals, including the Carnival of Venice, which is celebrated once a year at the same time as we might celebrate Mardi Gras. The festival is especially known for the costumes and masks that people wear to celebrate, with elaborate and flamboyant designs like the ones pictured here."

He waited a second before nodding to Jordan and changing the slide. "We now head further South to the city of Florence. While known for many things, Florence is most especially known as the birthplace of the Renaissance, a time of change in the art world towards naturalism and emotion in their pieces. From the Mona Lisa to the statue of David, and from the painting of Venus to the Uffizi hallway, Florence is home to many masterpieces by the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello. Which, yes, is where the names for the Adolescent Amphibian Army characters came from."

Chuckles filled the room as Lincoln transitioned to the next part of the presentation. "However, Italy's culture goes back further than that, and most of this comes from the city right in the centre of Italy, Rome. As I previously mentioned, Rome is the capital city of Italy, but is also the city that was home to the Roman Empire. Founded over two thousand years ago, this was one f the most powerful empires in history, and gave us many modern advancements in culture and society. Among other things, without the Romans, we wouldn't have currency, baths, fast food, roads or calendars. We also wouldn't have the colosseum, famous for the famous gladiator fights, battles of strength amongst mighty warriors for the people to enjoy."

He acted the last part out, waving his arm around as if he was swinging a sword, which Jordan couldn't help but stifle a chuckle at, before he changed the slide once more. "The final city that we'll be talking about, just a bit South of the capital, is Naples. While there is a lot that can be said about Naples, such as its advancements in theatre and art, and its architecture, you can't talk about this city without mentioning one thing: pizza. The city is the birthplace of the Margherita pizza, named after Queen Margherita of Savoy. Unlike American cheese pizzas, which use grated cheese, a Margherita pizza uses slices of balls of mozzarella, and is topped with fresh basil leaves."

"Of course, the only way to know for sure is to see for yourself." Jordan looked at him, having not anticipated it, and was more surprised when Lincoln pulled a Tupperware container out of his bag. He opened it up, revealing something wrapped in foil and unwrapping it to reveal a steaming hot pizza, causing an "Ooh" from the crowd. "As you can see, the pizza has a thinner crust, and is made with fresh ingredients."

"I hope you're willing to share that around, Lincoln," Mrs Johnson joked, only for the boy to reveal that he had paper plates, and the pizza was already sliced.

"Way ahead of you. I'll give some out when we're finished."

He looked to Jordan, who nodded before facing the class again. "This is just the tip of the iceberg for what Italy has to offer, and the only way to truly experience it is to go and see it firsthand. That concludes our presentation, so thank you for listening and we hope you see beautiful Italy soon."

They both extended their arms and said together, "Grazie!"

The class clapped them as they gave a slight bow, Mrs Johnson standing up as well. "Thank you, Jordan and Lincoln! That was an excellent presentation, with a good variety of information presented very clearly to us all! I think that's worthy of an A+!" Lincoln and Jordan both smiled widely, sharing a high five at the news. "Now, whilst Mollie and Flat Tire set up their presentation, I'll allow you to share out the pizza with your friends."

So, once Lincoln removes his memory stick from the computer, he began to plate the pizza, giving the pieces to his friends and one piece to Artie, before he and Jordan sat down with the last two slices. While some of the class were upset that they didn't get any, Jordan and Lincoln paid it no mind, especially when the former of the two took her first bite. "Oh my God! That's delicious! How did you make this?"

"Well, I've kind of picked up a couple of things from my Dad, and after what we came up with on Friday, I thought it would be a good idea."

"But, this is still hot! How did you-" Her eyes went wide as it hit her. "That's what you were up to at lunch!"

"Guilty as charged."

She grinned at how he didn't hesitate to own up to it. "Well, Lincoln Loud, I think that this presentation was nothing short of a success."

"That it was, Jordan Rosato. That it was."


	72. Ch 72- A Reason To Change

The final bell rang, a sound that brought relief to all of the students in Mrs Johnson's class. "Alright, everyone, that is all for today!" the brunette declared. "Well done with your geography projects, they were well prepared all round. Enjoy the rest of your day, and I will see you in the morning."

Not needing to be told twice, the sixth graders all began to leave. Lincoln and Jordan headed towards their lockers so that they could get their stuff together. "So, what are you going to be doing now?" the boy asked, putting his coat on.

"Well, no doubt Ajax will want someone to walk him," Jordan explained. "Mom'll be making dinner, dad's probably still at work and Jen's hanging out with friends, so it'll probably have to be me. Not that I mind, of course." Lincoln chuckled, agreeing fully. "What about you?"

"Well, Lynn and I have our yoga session, but after that, probably just play video games. I don't really have any homework at the moment, so I'll be able to relax a bit." A thought came to his mind. "Actually, do you mind if I walk home with you again? If my sisters realise I made pizza, they're gonna be all over me."

"I thought you said they were like that when it came to chocolate?"

"It's the same with pizza. And ice cream. And other candies and snack foods. The list goes on, really."

She rolled her eyes, giving a soft laugh. "Yeah, sure, but you don't have to keep asking me, you know. I like walking with you." His smile grew, making her laugh again. "Now, come on, before your sisters smell mozzarella on you." This time, they both laughed, closing the doors to their lockers. They headed out through the front doors, but before they could take off, she caught sight of something. "Hey, I think that girl's waving at you."

"Huh?" She pointed, and he followed it to see who she was referring to. The girl in question was a few years older than him, and had blonde hair with a blue streak. She wore a white t-shirt with a circular logo on the chest under a light blue leather jacket, purplish brown ripped jeans, dark purple boots, a black studded belt and two piercings on either ear. He gave a small wave back. "I wonder what she's doing here?"

He didn't have to wait long, as the blonde walked over to them. "Hey there, Lincoln," she greeted.

"Hey, Sam," he greeted back, somewhat awkwardly.

"Who's you're friend?"

"Oh, right. Sam, this is my friend Jordan. Jordan, this is Sam, Luna's girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you, dude."

"Nice to meet you too, Sam," Jordan replied.

"Not that it's not nice to see you," Lincoln cut in, "but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, right! Your 'rents asked me to walk you home. They had to take the van from Lori, and your other sisters are getting rides back, so I offered to make sure you get home okay."

"Oh. What about my younger sisters?"

"Apparently, your other sister's walking them home, the sporty one. What's her name again, Lynn?" She saw Lincoln nod, though he didn't look fully convinced. "Anywho, I figured it would be a chance for us to get to know each other better. Come on, we'll swing by Flip's on the way."

"Well, I was gonna walk home with Jordan."

"Lincoln, don't worry about it," his friend assured him. "Besides, we'll be heading to practice together tomorrow."

"You sure?" She nodded. "Alright, I guess. So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"See you tomorrow."

The two waved as Jordan walked away, before Lincoln turned to the high schooler. "So, should we get going?"

"Let's do it, dude!" The two began walking the other way. "So, what've you been up to today?"

"Not much, apart from my geography project."

"You're in sixth grade, right? Which would make that... the travel presentation, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Ugh, I remember having to do that back when I was in sixth grade. Didn't mind the topic, but I got partnered with this guy who was completely useless, ended up doing pretty poor. Not enough to flunk, but my 'rents weren't pleased."

"Yeah, I think there were a couple like that in my class. Guess I got lucky I was paired with Jordan."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, we did pretty well in the end, and it was fun working with her."

"That's cool. She seems pretty cool, too. You two been friends for long?"

"We've known each other since kindergarten, but we've only been real friends for like a year, and we've been hanging out more recently. She's pretty cool, yeah."

She smiled, hearing how positively he talked about his friend. "Sounds pretty sweet. What do you two do together?"

"Well, we've also hung out at the arcade and the mall a couple of times, but we mostly just hang out at school and at practice."

"Oh, yeah! Gymnastics, right?"

"Y… yeah. Did Luna… tell you about that?"

"Yeah, she told me about it last week. She told me that..." She realised that the boy was no longer beside her, turning around to see that he was stood still, looking at the pavement. "Lincoln?"

"… Sam, be honest with me. Did Luna ask you to take me to her?"

She didn't answer him straight away, giving a brief exhale through her nose before a sad smile appeared on her face. "She always said you were a smart kid." She saw him sigh, so she walked up to him and kneeled down to his height. "Luna did ask me if I could walk you to her. She told me about what's happened between you and your sisters."

His head tilted slightly, perplexed. "She did?"

"Yeah. She texted me Thursday night to ask if I could meet her early at school, and she told me all about it there. Obviously, I wasn't thrilled to hear it."

* * *

_Sam sat opposite Luna in the band room, staring at her lap in disbelief and disappointment. "Wow… I just… that's a lot to take in." She looked up at Luna, who had a guilty expression on her face as she looked at the floor. "Why would you do that, Luna?"_

"_I don't even know anymore, dude." The brunette's voice was low and drained, her eyes tired and unable to even try and look at Sam. "All I know was that Luan thought it was a joke, and then all of a sudden, we're all laughing. I can't think what kinda joke it could have been, but I was too… stupid to think it through."_

"_I don't get it. You always told me that you and your bro were close. Couldn't you just talk to him about this?"_

"_I've tried, bruh! Every day since, I've wanted to talk to him, to apologise and ask him to forgive me, but I can never find the words and I freeze up and I bail. You know that there's a number of things I hate, but the one thing that I really hate is knowing that I made my bro mad at me, and that he has every right to be mad. I screwed up, worse than I've ever screwed up before.__"_

_Though Sam felt pity for her girlfriend, she knew she had to be honest if she wanted to help her. "I hate to say it, but… you kinda did." Luna gave a sad nod, shrinking slightly in her seat. "That doesn't mean that you can't fix this." For the first time since she started to listen to her explanation, Sam saw Luna's eyes meet hers. "Luna, you've told me that you share a close bond with your siblings, and of all of them, you've always been more talkative when it comes to Lincoln. I can tell this is eating away at you, and I know that you love your family. You'll figure this out."_

"_I hope so, dude. I tried writing a song to tell him how I feel, but I just can't sing about this and play guitar at the same time. My mind won't let me."_

"_Well, do you want me to help?"_

_Luna's eyes widened. "You… you'd do that for me? Why?"_

"_Because I know that, if it was me in your situation, I'd do whatever it took to make it up to my bro, even if I needed help to do so."_

_The Loud rocker was silent for a few seconds, her eyes getting misty as she let it sink in, before she gave a sniffle. "I don't deserve you, Sam."_

_The blonde gave a small chuckle as she embraced her girlfriend. "Of course you do, Luna."_

* * *

Sam's eyes got a little misty as she recalled the talk she had with Luna, not noticing the concerned look that appeared on Lincoln's face. "Sam? You okay?"

She snapped out of her state, giving a small shake of her head before smiling at the boy. "Yeah, I'm cool, dude. Where was I?"

"You were saying how you weren't thrilled."

"Right, right. Yeah, I was disappointed that she had done that, but more importantly, I saw how much it hurt her that she had that weighing over her. I don't know if you know, but I have a little brother. His name's Simon, he's in the second grade, and he's pretty much the most important person in my life. If I ever hurt him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself until I made it right. That's why I told Luna I'd bring you to her. She figured it would be easier for her to talk to you if it was just you and her." He nodded, but didn't say anything, so she put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know things have been tense, but… do you think you can give her a chance?"

He didn't have to think too hard about it, giving a small smile as he nodded again. "Yeah. I can do that."

She smiled back. "You're a cool dude, Link. Now, come on, let's not keep your big sis waiting."

* * *

The two continued on their way, getting to know each other by talking about stuff like music, video games and their families, with Lincoln finding Sam to be pretty cool and Sam finding that it was mutual. Eventually, they reached Royal Woods High School, which Sam led the boy in. They went through the halls until they reached the music room, where Lincoln saw his sister waiting for them, an acoustic guitar in her hands. She saw the door open, butterflies forming in her stomach when she saw her brother enter. Sam could see this as she closed the door behind her, so she went over to her girlfriend.

"You've got this," she whispered to her as she took the guitar from her. "Just speak from your heart."

"Thanks, Sam." Once the girl had walked off slightly, sitting down on a stool, Luna turned to her quiet brother. "Hey, bro."

"Hey."

She could tell he wasn't going to say anything else, so she took a deep breath to steady herself for what was to come. "I know that what I'm about to tell you and what I'm about to do is way overdue. I've been trying to find the right words and the right moment… but I know those are just excuses. Sorry was never gonna be enough to make up for what we… what I did, and the longer it's taken me to figure this out, the more I've come to regret what I did." Her frown deepened as her emotions began to well up, but she fought to keep her composure. "I should have known you were telling the truth, and that it wasn't some joke... especially since I was in the same position as you were." His eyes went wide as his mind went back. "I can see you know what I mean. When I first found my calling at that Mick Swagger concert, there were kids in my class who would laugh at me for being into rock music, but I knew that I had my fam to support me."

She gave a small smile at the memories. "Heck, you've pretty much been my biggest fan this whole time, and I wouldn't have come this far if not for you." That smile quickly faded back into a frown. "Which makes it so much worse, knowing that when you needed us to support you for your new hobby, we didn't show it. If I could go back, I would've given you the biggest hug, told you that I was happy for you, and that I love you no matter what… but that's not how life works." She took another deep breath, this one a little shakier. "Like I said, sometimes sorry just ain't enough… but maybe this could be." She gave a nod to Sam, who nodded back. She then began to play the guitar, causing Lincoln to wonder what was happening, but when he saw Luna patting gently on her thigh, he knew not to interrupt as she began to sing.

"**I'm not a perfect person  
There's many things I wish I didn't do  
But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know**

**I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you**

**I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
That's why I need you to hear**

**I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you**

**And the reason is you!  
And the reason is you!  
And the reason is you!  
****And the reason is you!"**

As the song progressed, Lincoln could see the tears begin to stream down her cheeks, the passion and pain in her heart radiating with every word she sang. He felt tears welling in his eyes as well, his sister's song resonating with him and his own mistakes.

"**I'm not a perfect person…"**

Sam played a little more, but noticed that Luna had stopped singing, her hands now covering her eyes as she cried into them with shaky breath. She put down the guitar so she could comfort her, but Lincoln beat her to it. Luna heard his footsteps, and when she lowered her hands, she looked through teary eyes to see teary eyes staring back at her, just before the boy wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he told her. "I didn't want it to come to this, I swear."

Despite her disbelief at his words, she pulled him closer to her body, her head resting and nuzzling against his. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Linky. I'm the one who should be sorry, not you. I'm the one that laughed at you."

"And I'm the one that hid it from you girls! It's my fault all this happened."

"STOP IT!" He gasped lightly, loosening the hug so they could look each other in the eyes again. "Stop saying you're sorry when you have no reason to be sorry. Link, if there's one thing that this whole situation has made me see, it's that I don't care anymore that it took you two months to tell us, or that you hid it from us. I care that you came clean, and more importantly, I care that you're happy. If you love gymnastics, then don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. From here on, I'm gonna do what I should've done from the start and support you, because you're my bro and I love you. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you, Luna. I love you too, sis."

"Not as much as I love you, bro."

Sam watched on as they tightened their hug again, wiping a tear from her own eye. 'I'm gonna give them some space,' she thought to herself, putting her guitar on her back and quietly leaving the music room. That didn't stop her from looking through the window at the adorable embrace between brother and sister. 'I knew you could do it, Luna.'

* * *

The two Louds eventually let go of one another, and after meeting up with Sam again, they began to walk home together, with Sam walking with them the majority of the way, until they reached a junction. "Well, gotta split," she told the two Loud siblings. "After what just happened, I'm gonna go home, give my bro a big ol' hug and hang out with the little dude."

"I think we're gonna be doing the same," Luna replied. "Thanks for everything, babe. I couldn't have managed this without you."

"Don't be silly, Luna. You two are so close, you would've done so without my help. I just gave you a push."

"You gave me more than that dude."

Sam couldn't resist a giggle. "Come here, you." She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, allowing her to hug her for a good few seconds while she kissed her on the head. When they eventually let go, she turned to Lincoln. "Good seeing you again, Lincoln. Maybe we can hang out some time."

"That sounds fun," he told her. "It was nice seeing you too."

"Alright, I better go or I'm gonna be talking to you all day. See you at school, Luna."

"You too, Sam." They waved to the blonde as she crossed over the road and headed on her way, before they continued to head towards their house. "So, Linc… can I ask you something?"

He raised an eyebrow, curious. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well… last weekend, back before the twins got all aggro and the protocol went down, you were gonna talk to me about something. Were you… were you gonna tell me about… y'know?"

"Oh… right. To tell you the truth, I was. I figured since we weren't busy, maybe we could have talked, and I could have told you the truth. Guess things didn't work out that way, huh?" She gave a small nod. "Can I ask you something? When I told you guys the truth… were you mad that I hid for so long?"

He heard a low sigh from his sister, who stopped walking for a second, so he turned to face her. "I'll be honest, bro. While I wasn't mad, I was upset about it. It made me think that… maybe we weren't as close as I thought we were."

"Oh…"

She saw him duck his head, a telltale sign that he felt guilty. "Hold on, bro. Look at me." He lifted his head, being met with a tender smile. "That was what I thought at first, but once I saw how you reacted, and after Lynn explained what you told her, I knew that it wasn't personal on your part, and that you weren't doing it to hurt us. You were just scared, and I totally get that. Basically, what I'm saying is, it ain't your fault that things happened like they did. We were wrong to react how we did, and while I can't speak for them, I'm confident the rest of our sibs will let you know that too."

This brought a smile back to his face, so he moved forward and hugged her again, a gesture she happily returned. "Thanks, Luna."

"Anytime, bro." When they released the hug, they walked side by side with her arm around her brother's shoulders. "Listen, I know Lynn's gonna be wanting to work out with you when we get back, but how about we hang out after dinner? Maybe we can play a video game or something."

"Really? I'd like that."

"Me too, bro."

It was another minute or so before they reached the house. After entering through the front door, they saw Lynn sat on the couch by herself, the young jock looking at them when she heard them enter. "There you are, man!" she greeted. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Lynn," the boy apologised. "I just had to take a detour."

He shot a wink to Luna, who winked back. "I'll leave you two alone," she told them, before making her way upstairs. Once she was gone, Lincoln turned to Lynn, who had a grin on her face.

"So, you two make up?"

"Yeah, everything's good now between us. I'm glad, too."

"I can see. You're smiling like me when I get that first goal in a big soccer game." He rolled her eyes, which made her chuckle. "Anyway, you're here now, so we can get started with some yoga before Lori demands the tv."

"Sure thing, Lynn. Just give me a minute to put my stuff away and-"

"LINCOLN!" he heard a certain voice yell, turning around to see Lola stomping down the steps towards him. "YOU MADE PIZZA, AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE US ANY?!"

He heard a collective what from upstairs before the rest of his sisters all began to make their way into the living room, and all he could do was sigh. 'Today was going too smoothly, huh?'

**(A/N: the song used is "The Reason" by Hoobastank.)**


	73. Ch 73- Teacher Intervention

Lynn left the bathroom, now ready for the day ahead. Luan was going to enter, but Lori pushed past the two brunettes to get there, sharply shutting the door before the comedienne could start banging on it. "Lori! I was there first!"

"And I was born first!"

Lynn chuckled as her next oldest sister gave a groan, offering an "unlucky, sis" as she walked away. She was going to return to her room and get changed for the day ahead, but as she got to her door, her ear perked up when she heard something from downstairs. Her curiosity more powerful than her desire to get changed, she decided to head down and see what it was, and was surprised to see her brother sat on the sofa, watching cartoons on TV. He had to have heard her come down the staircase, as he turned his head to look at her.

"Good morning, Lynn," he greeted.

"Uh, morning, bro," she greeted back, tiredly rubbing her eye. "What are you still doing here? Thought you would've gone by now, you know?"

"Yeah, I would have, but I didn't really feel like walking this morning."

"Oh, yeah? How come?"

"Well, you know, it's getting colder out, and… well, you know…"

She noticed how he seemed to be grasping for an answer there, making her confused. "Lincoln, you're not making sense. What are you talking about?"

He struggled for a few seconds to think of an answer, eventually sighing. "I guess I just… kind of missed riding with you guys to school."

Her eyebrows shot up, her confusion now heightened by surprise. "You missed riding with us? In Vanzilla?"

The boy chuckled. "I know, it sounds ridiculous, but… well, as much as I enjoyed walking to school with Jordan every day, I kind of missed the noise and everything. I stopped riding with you guys because I didn't want to cause a scene or be in a bad mood before school started, and now that I've made up with the twins and Luna, I just thought that… well, maybe it's time things went back to normal again."

Lynn smiled, happy that her brother felt comfortable with riding with his sisters again. "That's cool, bro, but then why did you get up early?"

"I've enjoyed helping dad in the kitchen. You can join us, if you want." Her initial answer was simply a scoff. "I'll take that as a no, then."

"Besides not wanting to get up early, the only things that I can make are burgers and meatball subs. My home ec teacher made me switch classes after I nearly set the room on fire."

He put a hand to his mouth, a muffled "you're kidding" escaping through his fingers.

"Nah, bro. Used too much oil, and it went everywhere. She was this close to losing her eyebrows." Though he should have been mortified, he couldn't resist laughing, clutching his ribs as he did so. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Just be glad it wasn't you holding the flaming pan."

"Yeah, that's… that's true." He was still laughing a bit as he eventually calmed down, noticing that Lynn had something of a smile on her face. "What?"

"It's good to see things going back to normal, Linc." He raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she meant. "I know I like to rib on you for being a dork, and try and get you to do sports with me a lot. I only ever did that to try and get you to hang out with me more, but I wasn't ever trying to change you. I love you as you are, because I know you wouldn't be happy if you were anyone else, and… well, it's good to see you laughing again. You may be a dork, but you're still my brother."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Lynn?"

She scoffed, giving a harsh shove to his shoulder. "Thanks! See, this is why I rib you so much, Stinkoln!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Honestly, Lynn, take a joke." She rolled her eyes with a soft chuckle. "I appreciate you saying that, Lynn. I've never minded helping you practice for soccer and basketball and… other things." He had to resist shuddering as certain memories tried to resurface, a vigorous shake of his head managing to suppress them. "Point is, I like hanging out with you, just like I enjoy hanging out with the rest of our sisters. Sure, we might not always do stuff I enjoy, but that's okay. As long as you girls are happy, I can be happy."

"See, that's what I mean, bro!" She shuffled towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a kind guy, you've always been more concerned for the rest of us than for yourself. We've not always been able to appreciate that, but that never stopped you." Her smile turned slightly wistful, but she shook her sad thoughts away. "Still, things are gonna better, I know it. The others are gonna make it up to you, we're gonna start appreciating you more, you're gonna tell Jordan you like her-"

"You couldn't resist, could you?"

"I don't see you denying it."

He gave a soft groan as he shook her head, to which she burst out laughing. "I'll remember that the next time you get a crush."

"Oh, come on, bro. Take a joke. Besides, she's a cool girl. She might be good for you."

"Noted, now can we move on from this conversation?"

She chuckled again, standing up from the couch. "Alright, alright, I'll spare you this once. Gotta get changed, anyway." She began to walk towards the stairs before an idea struck her, a smug grin taking over her face. "Y'know what, bro?"

"What?"

"We've got some time before breakfast. Why don't you fire up a fighting game and we'll see if I can kick your butt like I can in real life."

His grin matched hers, his arms crossed confidently. "You're challenging me? You've never touched a controller in your life, what makes you think you can beat me?"

He saw the fire in his sister's eyes ignite. "Oh, that is it, bro! Get the game on, I'll be down here in two minutes!"

He didn't say anything as she bounded upstairs, simply chuckling to himself. 'Yeah, I can start my day by kicking my sister's butt. That's fine by me.'

* * *

When Lynn eventually returned, he decided to give his sister a chance when they played his game, but Lynn spotted it and called him out on it. After that, he spent the next twenty minutes thrashing her for a seven match win streak. He wouldn't have minded beating her further, but they were told that breakfast was ready, so they joined the girls at the dining table. While some were surprised that their brother hadn't already left, no one minded it, with some happily talking to him. This continued as they entered Vanzilla and began to drive to school, with Luna noticing that Lincoln had put his earphones in before asking to listen with him.

When he eventually got to school, the morning pretty much faded into the afternoon, with the first classes of the day being nothing special and recess was a welcome break from lessons. Eventually, the lunch bell rang and Lincoln went to his locker with his friends. "Hey, Clyde, do you still have some of those French cookies?" Rusty asked. "I'll trade my nachos for them."

"Sorry, me and Chloe shared the rest of them after school yesterday," the McBride boy explained. "We stopped by the park on our way home."

"Sounds like things are getting serious for you two," Zach suggested, to which Clyde chuckled.

"No, it's nothing like that. Me and Chloe are still kids, not even in middle school yet. We're taking things slow and having fun. I wouldn't say we're boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but… I dunno, who knows what may happen."

"Well, I think it's sweet," Stella offered with a smile. "She's lucky to be with you."

He couldn't help but blush from the sudden attention on his love life. "Honestly, I think I'm the lucky one."

The Filipina couldn't help but coo at just how sweet that sounded, while the boys gave non-teasing chuckles, with his best friend patting him on the back. "It sounds like you both are, Clyde," Lincoln told him. "It's good to see you're happy with her."

He closed his locker, as did his friends with theirs, and they began to head towards the cafeteria. "So, Linc, you've got practice after school, right?" The white haired boy nodded. "Are you free for some online gaming after dinner?"

"You know it, guys! I heard there's a new download coming later with some new missions that people have been asking the developers to put in for ages!"

"About time!" Rusty said with a roll of his eyes. "The game's fun, but it's about time they added something new."

"Do you think it could be-"

"Excuse me! Lincoln!"

They all turned around to see who had called out to the Loud boy. Making her way through the mass of students was a woman with medium length black hair and dark tan skin, wearing a turquoise sweater over a cream shirt, a red knee length skirt and black slip-on shoes, plus red lipstick and pearl earrings. "Ms Shrinivas?" Lincoln greeted, slightly confused.

"There you are, Lincoln. I need to speak to you, is that okay?"

"Uh, sure, one second." He turned to his friends and told them, "I'll catch up with you," then waited for them to agree and leave before returning his attention to the teacher. "What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your sister Lisa."

"What happened? Did she do something?"

"No, quite the opposite, actually. She hasn't been showing as much interest in class recently. Her work has been exceptional, as expected for someone of her intelligence, but she has been less vocal, she hasn't been experimenting and just yesterday, her friend Darcy told me that she had been sitting by herself at lunch. When I asked why, she said that she thought Lisa was ignoring her. I spoke to Lisa yesterday and she said she was merely distracted. Her words were that she was 'experiencing a social quandary that she could not overcome'. I decided to give it a day to see if things would improve, but they haven't. I was considering calling your parents, but since I've found you, I have to ask. Is everything alright with her at home?"

"I believe so. When did she start acting like this?"

"Well, I hadn't noticed her acting particularly distracted until yesterday and today, but she said she has been struggling with this since last Tuesday."

"Tuesday… I'm not sure if I can think of… any…"

"_Lisa, I get what you're trying to do, but you don't seem to understand. It's more complicated than something we can just 'put behind us'."_

His brow furrowed as the memory hit him. "Oh…" He saw that this had caught Ms Shrinivas' attention. "I think I might know what's bothering her, actually. Where is she?"

"I asked her to sit in the classroom while I found you."

"Is it okay if I speak to her?"

"Of course. Follow me." So, he followed after the teacher towards the room he knew to be the kindergarten classroom, a room he rarely entered other than to speak to his smart little sister. Once they reached the door, they stopped outside the classroom, where Ms Shrinivas told him, "I'll give you two some privacy."

"Thank you."

With that, he stepped inside, the familiar scents of kindergarten such as crayons and paper mache hitting his nostrils. He saw that the room was mostly empty, except for two young girls sat at one table, eating from packed lunches. One of the girls was Lisa, and the other was a girl with dark skin and dark brown hair, wearing a green tank top with a red flower, yellow shorts and white sneakers with dark pink socks. He knew this girl to be Lisa's friend, Darcy Helmandollar, who noticed the boy approaching them.

"Lisa! Your brother is here!" she said somewhat excitedly, prompting Lisa to lift her head.

"Darcy, you can call me Lincoln, you know," the boy told her in response, sitting down on the tiny chair. "I don't mind, you're a friend of Lisa's."

"Oh, okay! What are you doing here, Lincoln?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could speak with Lisa, actually."

"I see," the bespectacled girl muttered, somewhat grimly, before turning to her friend. "Would it be possible for my… my brother and I to have some space?"

"Oh… okay. But, we can still play together after, yeah?"

"Of course."

"Yay!"

She gave Lisa a hug, before grabbing her lunchbox and walking away to another table. "She seems… energetic," Lincoln pointed out, to which Lisa nodded.

"She is, though not unlike our other siblings sans Lucy and perhaps Lily. Still, I must admit her company is favourable, regardless of whether she understands my scientific endeavours or not."

"That's good. Friends are important, after all."

"As I have learned." She thought about taking another bite from her apple, but gave a sigh instead. "Lincoln, not that I mind, but what is the meaning of your sudden presence? I can't imagine your friends would find it 'cool' to see you hanging out here."

"Well, I bumped into Ms Shrinivas, and she said that you've been distracted recently. Something about a 'social quandary'. What's up?"

"Ah, that… It's nothing you need to be concerned with, Lincoln. The answer is… well, it's still being researched into, but I aim to have it within the week."

He could hear the hesitation in her voice, the way it seemed to drop slightly before she tried to pick it back up. It was missable, but not when you've been an older brother for over eight years. "Lisa, your teacher said you've been focusing on this since Tuesday… is this about what I said?"

Silence lay thick between them for a solid seven seconds, neither shifting their gaze away from the other. Lincoln's expression was still- warm with brotherly care and concern- whereas Lisa was trying to keep a straight face, only failed by a slight initial twitch of her eyebrow. Eventually, she sighed and ducked her head, putting her apple down on the table then holding her hands together on the table in front of her. "Lincoln, let me ask you something. As a scientist, what do you think is something I hate, more than anything?"

"I don't know."

"Above all else, Lincoln, I hate realising that I am wrong. Now, being TOLD that I am wrong or that I made a mistake, I have no qualms with whatsoever. It gives me a reason to further my research, to search for the answers, and to reach one of two conclusions: to prove that I was right all along, or to reach the real answer. There is, however, a third conclusion that can be reached." He was just able to notice the deepening of a frown on her face, but chose not to say anything, lest it cause her to back away from the conversation. "The longer my research goes without results, the closer I come to frustration, and in a sense, the more wrong I am. Because my mind is quite analytical, if I find that I am wrong, it can become something of… well, I suppose you could say an obsession for me to be right again, which is why I've been so distracted this past week."

She shook her head after another couple of seconds of silence. "I suppose that didn't entirely make sense." Though he raised an eyebrow, Lincoln still didn't say anything as she returned her gaze to him. "You see, Lincoln, I have been trying to think of the correct way to make things right with you. My initial attempt, while I had initially thought it was adequate, proved to be INadequate. I've been looking into how I should go about it, contemplating different methods such as giving a written apology or writing poetry, the latter being something I briefly considered asking Lucy for assistance with before realising that it was not the correct approach. Every avenue I explored ultimately led to me reaching the same frustrating realisation that it would not be enough, and now… I have nothing to go on."

The girl fell silent once more, and when her brother saw the crestfallen expression on her face, he realised it was time for him to speak. "Lisa, I get why you've done this, but you didn't need to do all that."

She tilted her head, squinting in confusion. "I fail to see your reasoning."

"Yeah, I guess that's kind of my fault. As hard as it might be to imagine, I sometimes forget that you're still just a four year old." Once again, he was met with confusion, but he had an answer for her. "Lisa, you might be a PhD, but there are some things that you learn through experience rather than through research. It's part of growing up, you know? Also, you said that your mind is analytical… but this isn't just a matter of the mind, it's a matter of the heart as well."

"I… think I see…"

"Well, let me help you, Lisa. Do you know why I was angry?"

"Yes, you were frustrated with us for our initial laughter when you revealed that your dodgeball training was actually gymnastics training."

"Well, how do you feel about that now? Not what do you think, but how do you feel?"

"Well, I… I…" As she began to process this, her frown deepened again. "I feel… guilty. Guilty for acting how I did, guilty for taking so long to do anything…" She gave a sad laugh. "All this time, yet five minutes with you was all it took to realise." He could hear a slight croak in her voice, a sign that she was tearing up. His suspicion was confirmed when she removed her glasses to rub her eyes. "Lincoln, it's time I said something. Something I should have said at least a week ago, and… well, hopefully, it's not too late. I'm sorry for… how I reacted, and for how I've treated you and your interests. I realise that, if it were me in that position, I would likely have the same reaction, so… I hope you can forgive me."

Lincoln smiled honestly. "Of course I can, Lisa. I forgive you."

"R-really?" She felt herself become more testy, wiping them away before they could run. "But why?"

"Because there's no reason for me to hold a grudge, when I know you're being honest with me." She gave a smile in response, so he patted the seat next to him. "Come here."

She got up from her seat and went around the table, which allowed Lincoln to scoop her up into a hug that she happily returned. "Thank you."

"It's okay, Lisa." They held the hug for maybe twenty seconds before Lisa let go and backed out of it, wiping her tears away. "Are you going to be okay now?"

"Of course, male sibling. Now, go. I've kept you from your friends long enough, and I need to return to mine."

He chuckled as he stood up. "Alright, Lisa. I'll see you at home."

They both nodded, and he headed to leave the room, before giving a quick look back. He saw Lisa talking to Darcy, who quickly hugged her friend, making him don a wide smile. One that would last him for the rest of lunch.


	74. Ch 74- No Joke

**(A/N: hello, everyone! Now, as I previously mentioned, I'm gonna be working on a project for potentially the whole of July. Again, I'll let you guys know if something comes of it, but for now, all I can say is, I may not have as much time to work on this fic over that month. I'll upload when I'm able to, but that's all I can do for the time being, as this project is gonna take a lot of my time. I'm sorry for this and I hope you can understand, you've been so supportive with this fic and with all of my work, and without that support, I don't think I'd ever be able to do this project I'm working on.**

**Until I next speak to you guys, thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

While things were happy over at the elementary school during lunchtime, the same couldn't be said for everyone at Royal Woods High School. Most of the high school students were talking with their friends as they ate their lunches, but a certain brunette was sat by herself at a picnic table outside, staring with almost no emotion at the half eaten sandwich in her hands. Luan sighed, her hunger having somewhat faded. 'That seems about right,' she thought to herself, lowering the morsel back into the brown paper bag.

"I thought I'd find you here," she heard a voice from behind her say, though she didn't turn to face him. She just grew a faint attempt at a smile.

"You know me, Benny. If I can't keep my thoughts inside, I've gotta go outside." She heard a chuckle, finally turning her head to look over her shoulder and see a boy with brown curly hair, wearing a blue and white two-tone button shirt with dark grey jeans and white sneakers. He had a soft smile on his face, more apparent than the one Luan dared to make. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you, Luan." He sat down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I saw that you weren't that focused in drama class, and I knew something was up." She looked down, no smile left on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"No… just the same as usual."

His smile faltered upon hearing this. "Oh, so… things haven't turned out alright between you and your brother yet?"

She shook her head, to which he sighed. Luan had told her boyfriend the previous Friday about what was happening with her family, and while the boy had been deeply disappointed by the comedienne's actions, he knew he couldn't be mad at her, instead offering a shoulder to cry on. She was appreciative of the support he gave her, even if part of her felt that she didn't deserve it.

"So far, three of my sisters have made up with him, and three of them already knew the truth. I'm not hurt at him not telling me anymore… if anything, I feel he was right not to."

"Don't say that! I don't know your brother like you do, but I'm sure he would have told you eventually. It sounds like he was just-"

"Scared of how we were going to react." Her eyes grew sadder. "And we proved him right to be."

Benny frowned, not saying anything for a few seconds as he studied Luan. He had never been fond of hearing her talk in such a low manner, especially about herself- even in his disappointment, he still saw the absolute world in her and wanted to do whatever he could to help her out. Of course, he knew that there wasn't all that much that could be done on his end, given this was a family matter, and he wasn't part of her family, so he couldn't interject himself. That didn't stop him from being there for Luan, though.

"Have you spoken to him since Friday?"

She gave a shake of her head, eyes directed at the table in front of her. "Not particularly. A couple of "hey Lincoln"s and a thanks after he finished using the bathroom, but we haven't talked." He was going to ask her something else, but she had more to say first. "I spoke to Luna yesterday, after school. She said she had managed to make up with Lincoln, but she had to come up with a song to help her to tell him how she felt. If I tried that, I'd just make things worse."

Benny gave a small tilt of his head. "What do you mean?"

She shuffled slightly, allowing her to face him more directly. "I couldn't write a song like Luna, because I'm not that good when it comes to music. I definitely can't write a joke or a routine to let Lincoln know how I feel about all this. He'll think I'm not taking it seriously, and that'll just make things worse!" She ducked her head again. "I'm hopeless."

"No, you're not!" She flinched slightly from the sharp response, but lifted her head when she felt his hand against her cheek, guiding her gaze up to meet his. "Luan, I know that you can figure this out. You are the most caring, considerate, amazing girl I know. You've shown me that you care about people, your family most of all, and I can't imagine how tough things have been for you and your siblings with what's happened… but if your sister Luna can make up with him, then I know you can."

Seeing the confidence in his smile and the hope in his eyes, Luan couldn't help but blush, giving a goofy smile of her own. "Aww, Benny… even when I feel like I'm at rock bottom, you always know how to pick me up." He gave a small chuckle, before seeing her smile fade. "Still, I wish I knew how I could show him that I want to support him. That's what he deserves, above all else."

"You're right, Luan. I wish I knew what you could… wait… that's it!" Luan watched curiously as his eyes lit up in realisation. "You want to support your brother, right?" Slightly confused as to where this was going, Luan nodded. "Well, why don't you go support him? When your brother next has practice, show him that you support him!"

Though it took her a couple of seconds to figure it out, she gasped when she eventually did, her eyes going wide in the process. "That's it… that's it! Why didn't I think of that? Benny, you're a genius!"

It was the curly haired boy's turn to blush slightly, scratching his cheek with his index finger. "I wouldn't say that."

She gave a giggle at how cute he was acting, before realising something else. "Benny, I know I owe you for helping me figure this out, but I need to go speak to my sister real quick. I promise that I'll make this up to you somehow, but-"

"Luan, it's okay. I can wait, just go."

She smiled again. "Thanks, Ben." She packed up her lunch and grabbed her bag, then stood from the picnic table. She began to walk away, but stopped after a few steps. "Oops! Almost forgot!"

"What do you-" Before he could finish that sentence, Luan had turned around and walked up to him, allowing the Loud to place a quick and tender kiss on the boy's lips, making his eyes go wide in surprise. She let go after about four seconds, leaving the boy in a dazed state.

"Thank you, Benny. I'll repay you properly soon."

With that, she walked away, the boy eventually melting into a giggling, lovesick mess once she was gone. "Wow…"

* * *

After she had left her boyfriend, Luan had found Lori in the lunch hall. She let Lori know of her plan, and though she wasn't entirely confident, she accepted it and agreed to let the other high school Louds know. After that, Luan returned to Benny and they talked for the rest of lunch until classes resume. She managed decently enough to focus on her classes without getting too caught up over what was to come. When the final bell eventually rang, she grabbed her stuff from her locker and almost ran out of the doors, knowing that she didn't really have time to waste. She needed to get their before practice started, not wanting to spook her brother by showing up halfway through.

The sports centre was further from the high school than it was from the elementary school, so when she caught up enough to see Lincoln and his friends entering the sports centre, she came to a stop so she could ready herself. 'Alright, this is it, Luan,' she thought to herself. 'No turning back… God, I hope I'm not making a mistake.' Her doubts began to resurface from the back of her mind, fighting to convince her to turn around and walk away, but she knew that nothing would be achieved that way, so she forced them back. 'No, Luan. It's time I made this right.'

With the admittedly small amount of resolve she was able to muster, she stepped into the sports centre. The first thing she did when inside was approach the reception desk. "Excuse me," she said to the blonde woman. "Where can I find gymnastics practice?"

"Head right down there, turn left at the end and go through the double doors," she explained.

"Thanks!" With that, Luan followed the directions she had been given, eventually finding the double doors and pushing her way through. As she saw just how big the gymnastics area was, she gave a whistle as she looked around. "Fancy! And I thought Chuckle's Clown School was big, but this is gym-massive!"

She gave a small chuckle at her joke, not noticing that someone was approaching her from behind. "Excuse me." She jumped slightly, turning to see Chris looking at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She placed a hand against her chest to calm herself down, smiling back at him. "Oh, it's fine, really. I wasn't really paying attention. Pretty scare-less of me, am I right?"

She laughed again, with Chris giving a weak chuckle of his own. "Right… so, are you here to try gymnastics?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm actually here to watch my brother. That's okay, right?"

"Of course! Usually, we just get parents or maybe grandparents who come by and support the kids, but brothers and sisters can too. So, since I know Artie only has a brother, I can only guess you're one of Lincoln's sisters."

"I am, yeah. Has he… mentioned us?"

"He has, he… yeah, he has."

She could tell from the way his tone dropped slightly and how he hesitated that not all of what he had heard had been good, making her smile drop. "Oh… I see…"

He saw that the girl's demeanour had lowered, making him gently raise an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I'm thinking this might have been a mistake. Maybe I should go."

"No, no, no, no! Hey, hey, listen. You don't have to leave, and I think you should stay."

"You do? But, you said that Lincoln had told you about us."

"He did, and he told me about what's been happening, so I think I know why you've come here. You want to show him you care, right?"

"W-well, yeah, but it's more than that." She grabbed the back of her wrist and began to rub her forearm, looking down slightly. "Lincoln's been our biggest supporter for all of our activities, and… we wanna support him for his. We screwed up before, and now we wanna make things right. _I_ wanna make things right."

Chris' smile returned. "Then stay. Watch your brother practice, and then after practice is over, tell him that." He looked over and saw more of his trainee's arriving. "I need to go start things up, so just think about what I said, okay?"

"Okay." She let the instructor walk away, before looking around some more. She noticed that some girls she had seen hanging with Lincoln were looking at her, so she diverted her gaze, which was when she saw her brother exit the changing room in his workout clothes. The second his gaze locked with hers, she knew that this was it. 'Let's make this work.'

She smiled and gave a wave, prompting the boy to confusedly wave back. He made his way over to the high schooler, no urgency in his steps but no hesitation either. "Luan?" he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't have any homework or anywhere to be, so I thought I'd come see you practice," she explained. "Hope you don't mind."

"Uh… I guess? Still, it's… kind of odd that you just showed up."

"What, I can't come and see my little brother practice his hobby? Don't be gym-nasty." She gave her typical laugh, following it up with a "get it?"

Lincoln's mouth opened as he prepared to respond, but after a moment, his expression soured. "Oh… oh, I get it, alright."

She was slightly confused by his darkened tone, but after a second, her smile dropped and she began to regret her approach to the conversation. "No… no, Lincoln, wait a second."

"No, Luan, I'm not gonna wait! For what, just so you can think of more jokes to make about this? What, it wasn't enough for you to laugh at me before?!"

"No! That's not why I'm here! Lincoln, I swear-"

"Then why are you here?!"

"BECAUSE I WANTED TO SUPPORT YOU!" The boy jumped back from the sudden outburst. Her eyes were squeezed tightly as she clenched her hands, but when she looked back at her brother, she saw him look at her in shock, and her vision become obstructed by sudden tears. Any words she had planned on saying to the boy were failing to come out, and all she was able to do was pant for a few seconds before eventually yelling, "forget it!"

Before Lincoln could say anything to stop her, Luan took off running for the exit. He called out for her to come back, but she didn't return, shoving her way through the double doors and leaving the boy to himself. He knew from the sudden silence that all eyes were on him, but that didn't even begin to concern him. His sister, on the other hand, did.

"Lincoln?" He heard Jordan ask, walking up to him to look at him with concerned eyes. "What happened?"

He couldn't even look her in the face, his heart sunken. "I screwed up… again."

* * *

Luan burst out of the sports centre, the air suddenly feeling a lot colder against her face. The tears could no longer be held back, and her hands were shaky as she lifted them to her head. "Why did I think this was a good idea?" she shouted to no one in particular. "Why did I think I deserved him forgiving me?! Why did- WOAH!" In her self deprecation, she didn't realise that she had caught her foot on something, causing her to stagger until she fell roughly to the ground. She was going to get up, but she instead just stayed their on her hands and knees, crying not from the pain of the fall but from how fitting it was. "That sums it right up, doesn't it?"

In her state, she didn't hear Lincoln exit the sports centre after her, gasping when he saw his sister on the ground. "Luan!" He ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with little energy, using her grazed hands to push herself into a seated position on the sidewalk. "Why do you care? Or, rather, why _should _you care?"

He was taken aback. "What do you mean, why should I care? You're my sister."

"Even after what I did?"

"Yes, even after that. I'm never going to want to see you hurt, and there's nothing you could do to change that, Luan."

She finally looked at him, looking for any sign of deceit in his gaze, but found only truth. Because of this, she gave a small scoff and looked down again. "We don't deserve a brother like you, Lincoln. What we did was… no. What _I _did was wrong. I laughed at you when you were trying to tell us about your hobby, and if I hadn't done that, everything would be fine. The others wouldn't have thought you were joking, you wouldn't be mad at us, and I wouldn't be here feeling like a guilty idiot."

Lincoln frowned from hearing his sister talk like this. He had already heard four of his sister's talk bad about themselves this past week, all because of his mistake. Hearing it from Luan, though- a girl who had devotion to making people happier- it felt like a piece of her heart was missing, and that was what really made his heart drop. "Luan… I was only mad at you in the moment. I haven't been mad since, just… upset, if anything." She nodded, and was going to say something, but he beat her to it as he sat down beside her. "And it's not your fault this happened. It's mine."

Luan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? I'm the one that laughed first."

"And I'm the one that hid this from all of you for two months! If I hadn't been such a… a coward and just told you all the truth, I wouldn't have snapped at all of you! I wouldn't have been avoiding you! I wouldn't have struggled to tell you all the truth if I had just…"

She heard him give another sigh, this one shakier, so she looked and saw that he was fighting back tears. "Lincoln?" He looked at her, and she sniffled before pulling her towards him, allowing both siblings to embrace. "This is not your fault. Sure, you didn't tell us for two months… but if we hadn't made you think we would act like we did, you wouldn't have done that. More importantly, if I hadn't laughed when you told us the truth, we wouldn't be here right now like this. So, I'm sorry that I made everyone act like they did, I'm sorry that I acted like I did, and I'm sorry that we made you think you couldn't trust us."

He hugged her tighter, letting a few tears drop onto her shirt. "I forgive you, Luan."

A smile graced her lips. "Thank you." The two sat there for another twenty seconds or so, neither wanting to let the hug end. They only looked up when they felt something cold land on their heads up, making them realise something. "Woah! It's snowing!"

"Guess winter really is here."

"Really makes you winter, don't it?" She chuckled to herself, with Lincoln joining her a second later, before she began to stand up. "Come on. You'll freeze out here, and you still have gymnastics practice to do."

"Right, yeah. Do you… still want to watch?"

Her smile grew. "I'd like that." He smiled back and nodded, before leading her into the sports centre again. When they eventually returned to the gymnastics hall, Lincoln ran over to his friends to rejoin the session, whilst Luan just watched on from the side. As he listened to his instructor and began to follow his direction, she whispered to herself, "I'm happy for you, Lincoln."


	75. Ch 75- Last Loud Left

**(A/N: thank you all for being so patient with this story. I know that this is, like, the fifth time I've put this story on hiatus, and I apologise for that. The project that I mentioned I was working on was an application for a job, and the application involved a lot of work. I won't divulge too much about it yet, but I will let you know when I hear more from them.**

**Also, I'm going to give a shoutout to CarlFan2020. At the bottom of their most recent chapter of Street Loud, they talked about discipline in writing, and I think he is absolutely right. If I wish to become**** a professional writer, I need to be disciplined. Therefore, I am now going back to my schedule of a new chapter every third day for this story. Unless anything urgent comes up (again), I will do my absolute best to maintain that, and my hope is to finish this story by the end of the year. **

**One other shoutout. Thank you to Tristen for reminding me that I recently hit four years as a writer on this website! It's been a crazy ride, and it's helped to shape who I am. Thank you all for your support along the way.**

**That's all for now. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

A couple of days had passed, and most of the Loud kids were back home after another day at school. Lynn was still at practice and Lincoln was at gymnastics, but the rest of the Louds were scattered around the house, doing their usual thing. Sat on the couch, Leni was watching cartoons with the twins, who had managed to get the remote first upon returning home. Since she didn't have any immediate homework or projects to work on, the fashionista was happy to sit with the twins and watch over them.

After about an hour of this, Leni heard the door to her parents' bedroom open up, her mother exiting with a tired groan as she adjusted her purse. The blonde looked to her mother and asked, "you okay, Mom?"

Rita gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine, sweetie," she replied. "Your father just called, he asked me to drive over to him. Apparently, there was an incident at the restaurant, and he needs help transporting ingredients. Something about the food truck breaking down."

"But, aren't you picking up Linky from practice?"

The matriarch shook her head. "I took Jordan home on Tuesday, so Mrs Rosato is gonna drop him off today. I've let her know that I won't be home, so she'll let him know." Leni gave a nod in understanding. "Do you know where Lori is? I need her to watch over you girls while I'm out."

The twins both gave groans upon overhearing this. "So much for watching cartoons," Lana said to Lola, who nodded.

"It was fun while it lasted," Lola agreed.

Leni paid their complaints no heed. "She's in her room," she replied to her mother. "I'll go and tell her."

"Thank you, Leni. I need to get going, so just let her know that she's in charge while I'm out, and give her this." She pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her purse and held it out to the high schooler. "If Lincoln and Lynn get back before we do, you can order pizza."

Leni took the money and smiled to her mother. "No problem, Mom."

Rita smiled back, then went towards the door. She called back with "I'll be back soon", then left out the front door. Once the door shut, Leni got up from the couch and began to walk upstairs. She heard a small explosion from Lisa's room, followed by a loud yell of "I'M OKAY" from the young PhD. Knowing that she would likely make matters worse if she tried to help her clean it up, Leni left her to do just that and went into her room. She saw Lori sat at her desk, the faint sound of scribbling reaching her ears.

"Lori?"

Her older sister turned around in her chair, her eyes looking fatigued. "What is it, Leni?"

"Mom left to help Dad. She said that you're in charge, and that if they aren't back before Linky and Lynn get home, we can have pizza."

She held the money out to Lori, who simply stared at it for a couple of seconds before taking it. "Thanks. You can… do whatever for now."

Lori turned back to face her desk, and Leni was going to leave, but her heart could tell that something wasn't right about this encounter. If there was one thing you could never fault Leni for, it was caring. Leni walked over to her chair and moved it across the room, the sound caused by moving it catching Lori's attention. Once it was by the desk, Leni sat down and looked Lori in the eyes. "Are you okay, Lori?"

"Leni, I'm fine."

"But… you look and you sound kinda sad."

"I'm not—" She stopped herself when she realised she was starting to raise her voice, not wanting to get mad at Leni for being concerned. "I'm not sad, Leni. I'm just kind of tired."

"Oh? Well, why don't you take a nap or something?"

The eldest of the Loud daughters gave a dry, humourless laugh. "That's not what I mean, Leni. I mean that… actually, I'm not sure you'd get it."

Leni frowned, placing a hand on Leni's shoulder. "Lori, I might not be smart, but I'm here if you need me. You can tell me, whatever it is. I just want to help."

Lori wanted to tell Leni that she was fine, and that she didn't need to talk, but the look in Leni's eyes told her that she really wanted to make sure her big sister was okay. That, combined with Leni's calming presence and the internal struggle Lori was facing, made her sigh. "It's… about Lincoln. This whole situation has just got me… it's got me stressed."

Leni tilted her head to the side. "How come?"

"Well, ever since he told us about his lie, things haven't been right between us. At first, I was mad at him for not telling us, and I didn't fully get why he was mad, but… now that it's sunk in, I get it. Just wish it wasn't taking this long for me to figure out how to make it up to him." She turns her chair so she can face Leni properly. "For the past week, I've had to watch or hear about how the others have made up with him— hearing how Lana and Lisa made up with him, watching him come home smiling with Lola, Luna and Luan. I'm supposed to be the responsible one, but I can't call myself that if I'm the only one that can't tell him I'm sorry."

"So, then, why don't you just talk to him about it? I'm, like, sure he'd be willing to listen."

Lori shook her head. "It's not that simple. I don't want to just walk in, tell him I'm sorry and have him not think I mean it. I need to know that, when I do talk to him, we can make up and I won't just be pushing him further away." She reaches over her desk and grabs her notepad. "I've been trying to think of how to do this, but nothing I can think of will work. If I try and get him a gift, he'll think I'm trying to buy his forgiveness. If I ask one of my friends to help, they'll think I'm a bad sister to him. No matter what I manage to think off, there's something wrong with it."

"Well, at least you've only written one page so far." Leni's optimistic comment was quickly proven wrong, as Lori lifted the page to lift the top page, revealing another page full of crossed out ideas. And another. And another. And three more on top of that. "Oh."

"Exactly." She throws the notepad back onto her desk and buried her head in her hands. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Leni's frown deepened, her hand moving to Lori's back so she could rub it comfortingly. "I… I don't know what to say. I wish I could help. Sorry."

Lori shook her head, lowering her hands and smiling at her roommate. "Don't be. I didn't ask you to help, but you still helped me, anyway."

"Wait… I did?"

"Yeah. You listened to me, and that's what I needed right now. Thank you, Leni."

Just like that, the younger girl's smile returned in full force as she leaned into a hug with Lori. "Any time, Lori."

Lori smiles as she hugged her back. The two shared the embrace for a few seconds before Lori let go. "Alright. I better make sure they don't tear the house apart."

She got up from her chair and grabbed a whistle from her desk, then walked out of her bedroom. Standing in front of the bathroom door, she lifted the whistle to her mouth and blew into it, bringing everyone out of their rooms and the twins from downstairs, standing at attention. "Okay!" she declared in an authoritative voice. "Mom left to help Dad, which means that I'm in charge until they get back. If there are any arguments, I will deal with them personally." She turned to Luna and a Luan, the latter of whom was holding Lily. "Luna, keep all music at a seven max and no higher. Luan, no pranks." They nodded sharply, so she turned to the twins and Lisa. "Lana, no playing in the mud. Lola, no driving your princess car inside. Lisa, no working with volatile chemicals."

"The hindrances scientific progress has to deal with," she muttered under her breath, making Lori narrow her gaze at her.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

Lori nodded, satisfied with the obedience shown. "Good. The rest of you, just make sure not to break anything, and come to me if you need anything." She blew her whistle again and everyone returned to what they were doing before, leaving Lori satisfied. "Well, at least things will be kinda peaceful for a little while."

She then heard the front door shut. Walking towards the stairs, she looked down and saw Lincoln had returned. He looked to her when she made her way downstairs. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"They're in their rooms," Lori explained. "Did Mrs Rosato tell you?"

"Yeah, she said Mom left you in charge. Guess that means no video games, right?"

"I mean, you can in your room, just not downstairs. Trying to avoid arguments over the tv, you know?"

"Okay."

They stood there for a second, neither sure what to say next, before Lincoln took off up the stairs so he could shower. When she heard his door shut, she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. 'I really need to figure this out.'

* * *

Things were relatively peaceful for the next hour or so. Lori watched over her siblings while she waited for her parents to return, Lynn returning shortly after her brother. While there were a couple of disagreements that needed tending to, Lori managed to keep control of the house. This was helped when she ordered pizza for dinner, the rare treat going down well with her siblings. Her parents eventually returned shortly after dinner, pleased to see that the house was under control. Lori then went back to her room and tried to think of more ideas about how to patch things up with Lincoln. A few minutes of fruitless efforts went by before she heard a ringing sound come from her laptop. Opening it up, she smiled at the caller ID and answered the call, camera footage of a familiar Latin American boy her age with short black hair, wearing a green over-shirt on top of a white t-shirt and grey jeans appearing on her screen.

"**Hey, Babe!" **he greeted.

"Hey, Bobby," she greeted back. "What's up?"

"**Nie Nie and I wanted to know if you and Lincoln wanted to come and visit us this weekend. I know we had to cancel a while back, so I thought he might want to come and see her before Christmas break starts."**

"That sounds great! I'll have to check with Mom and Dad that I can borrow Vanzilla, but I'd love to. I'm sure that Lincoln would… well, he'd love to see Ronnie Anne again."

Bobby noticed how his girlfriend's voice dropped as she finished that sentence, his eyes showing his concern. **"Everything okay, Babe?"**

She gave a dry laugh. "Am I that easy to read today?" She shook her head softly before looking at her boyfriend again. "Do you remember that thing I told you about last week?"

"**Which one? The thing about Carol or… oh… that thing."** Lori nodded, her heart sinking slightly at the mildly disappointed face that stared back at her. **"I guess things haven't worked out yet?"**

She shook her head. "I'm the only one that hasn't been able to fix this, and no matter what I think of, I just know it won't work."

"**I don't get it. You talk about Lincoln so much, I thought you would have wanted to patch things up with him by now."**

"Well, yeah, I _want _to, but I literally can't figure out how. He all but avoided us for a week, and he's still kind of quiet around me."

"**Well, maybe he's still worried about what you think. After all, you're his oldest sister."**

"You think so?"

"**Yeah. I know it's not the same thing, but haven't you ever worried what your parents think about something you do?"**

"Yeah, of course, but that was always more about how I do at school, or what course I want to do after high school. Never… anything like this, you know?" She sighed and looked down at her desk. "Maybe that's why I don't know how to talk to him about this. I don't actually know how to relate to him here."

"**Is there anything I can do to help?"**

Lori looked back to the screen with a smile. "That's sweet, Boo Boo Bear, but I really think that, however I do it, it has to be just me and Lincoln."

"**I get it. Still, maybe you'll figure something out after you've come to visit us."**

"Yeah, maybe you're—" Her eyes went wide after a short pause. "Wait a minute, that's it! Bobby, you're literally a genius!"

"**I am?"**

She nodded. "Listen, Bobby, I know you just called, but can I call you back in five minutes? I need to take care of something."

"**Sure thing, Babe. Go ahead."**

"Thanks. Love you, Boo Boo Bear."

"**I love you too!"**

Once they had exchanged a couple of air kisses, Lori ended the video call, closing her laptop. She stood up and headed to her bedroom door, opening it in time to see Leni holding two t-shirts in her hand. One was a short sleeved pink shirt with a crown design, and the other was a yellow v-neck with white polka dots.

"Hey, Lori?" she asked. "I can't decide which to wear to my sleepover with Jen, what do you think?"

"Can I get back to you on that? I need to speak to Lincoln about something."

"Okay! He's in his room, I think."

"Thanks."

Leni stepped aside, allowing Lori to leave their bedroom and walk down the landing to the former linen closet. She gave a knock on the door, not having to wait long for a reply.

"Who is it?"

"Just me. Can I come in?"

"Sure." She opened the door, stepping inside to see her brother sat at his desk in his pyjamas, working on some homework. "What's up?"

"Not much. Are you busy on Saturday?"

"Not especially. I'll probably end up helping the others with stuff, but I don't have anything planned. Why?"

"Bobby just called. He wanted to know if you wanted to head down to Great Lakes City for the day and hang out with Ronnie Anne, since they had to cancel our last visit. What do you say?"

Lincoln considered it for a second, then smiled. "Sure. That sounds fun."

"Okay. I'll go make sure it's okay with Mom and Dad, and then I'll let Bobby know."

Lincoln nodded before returning to his homework, which Lori took as her cue to leave. Knowing that was just the first step, she headed downstairs, where she saw her mother come out of the dining room. "Hey, Mom? Can I borrow Vanzilla on Saturday?"

"Saturday? What for?"

"Me and Lincoln want to go visit Bobby and Ronnie Anne. Is that okay?"

"Well, I suppose that would be alright. Still, are you going to be alright, just the two of you?"

"Yeah, I… I think so, yeah."

Rita could tell that her daughter was trying to sound confident to her. As the mother of the family, she knew about how her eldest daughter was still trying to make up with her brother, and though she wanted to help them, she knew that she had to let them figure this out for themselves. She let Lincoln handle telling his sisters, and though that hadn't gone how he had planned it, she thought it would be better to let Lori handle this herself, especially after her sisters had done the same.

"Alright, Lori. I'll let your father know, but you two can go visit the Casagrande's on Saturday."

Lori smiled, relieved. "Thanks, Mom."

She began to walk back up the stairs, before she heard Rita call to her. "Lori?" The girl in question looked back to her. "I trust you."

Lori nodded back to her, then went upstairs, disappearing from her mother's view. A second later, Lynn Sr walked out of their bedroom,

"Was that Lori?" He asked, to which Rita nodded. "Everything okay?"

She smiled to her husband and assured him, "yeah, everything's fine. I think things are finally going to work themselves out."


	76. Ch 76- Back To The City

"Lincoln! We're going in five minutes!" Lori called from downstairs, adjusting her winter coat.

"Be right there!"

Lori rolled her eyes, then fished her phone out of her pocket. She saw that Bobby had texted her, saying:

_Bobby: Can't wait to see you, Babe 3_

She smiled at the text, though as much as she was looking forward to seeing her boyfriend in person again, she was still nervous about the other reason that she was going down to the city. These worries started to fill her mind, so she gave a quick shake of her head to focus herself. 'Everything will literally be okay,' she reminded herself. 'He's gonna have a good time with his friends, I'm gonna have a great day with Bobby, and then… well, then we can figure that out.'

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked to see Lincoln descending, wearing his winter attire, carrying his backpack on his back and a skateboard under his arm. "Okay," he told her, "ready when you are."

"I can see. Are you sure about the skateboard, though? Weather might be icy."

"I checked with Ronnie Anne, she says the skate park should be clear."

"Do you have your helmet, then?" He opened his mouth, but said nothing as he realised his mistake. He turned around, muttering to himself as he headed back upstairs. "Thought not."

While she waited for her brother to return, she saw her mother enter from the dining room, holding Lily in one hand while she ate a cookie and car keys in the other. "Here you go, Lori," she told her daughter, handing her the keys. "You got everything you need?"

Lori nodded. "Got my phone in case of emergencies, got my wallet, Lana said there's a spare tire in the trunk, Lincoln's getting whatever he needs."

"Did your father give you some money to get dinner on the way back?"

"Yeah, he gave me some cash after breakfast. Bobby told me about a diner on the highway, so we might go there for dinner."

"Okay. Are you sure two will be alright by yourselves?" Though her smile weakened, she nodded again to her mother. "Well, then, have fun and call me if anything happens."

"We will."

Lincoln returned a second later, squeezing his helmet into his bag before putting it back on his back. "Okay, now I'm ready."

"Behave for the Casagrandes, Lincoln," Rita told him.

"I will, Mom."

"I know you will. We'll see you when you get back."

They both gave their mother a quick hug before heading to the front door, a cold breeze meeting them as they stepped outside. It wasn't snowing out again, but the front lawn was frosted, a sign that snowfall could soon occur. After shutting the door to the house, Lori went to Vanzilla. She unlocked the van, allowing her to get in the driver's seat whilst Lincoln took shotgun, putting his bag and skateboard on the seat behind him. Whilst Lincoln closed his door and put his seatbelt on, his sister did the same whilst checking the dashboard to make sure they were okay to drive. Once she was certain everything was okay and she checked her mirrors, she turned to her brother and asked him, "you ready?" He wordlessly nodded to her, so she turned on the engine and backed the car out of the driveway, turning the van around so they could drive away. "So, uh, Lincoln… you have any plans for when we get there?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Probably just do what the others usually do."

"Oh…"

She tried to think of something else to say, but didn't need to as Lincoln heard his phone ringing. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and answered the call. "Hello?"

"**Hey, Lincoln," **he heard Jordan speak on the other end of the call.

"Hey, Jordan. What's up?"

"**Me and the others were gonna head to the mall. You wanna join us?"**

"Sorry, I can't. I'm headed to Great Lakes City to see Ronnie Anne and her friends."

"**Oh, that sounds cool. Say hi to Ronnie Anne for me, okay?"**

"No problem. I'll let her know."

"**Thanks. I better going, so I guess I'll talk to you later."**

"Okay. Talk to you later."

He hung up and returned his phone to his pocket. Lori looked at him out of her peripherals. "Was that Jordan?"

"Yeah, she wants me to say hi to Ronnie Anne when we get to the city."

"That's nice of her. Were she and Ronnie Anne friends before?"

"Not that I know of, though I think they spoke together a few weeks ago while me and Jordan were doing that geography project."

"Well, at least they get along. Maybe next time Ronnie Anne comes to visit, the three of you can hang out together." He shrugged, leaving a small moment of silence between them before Lori spoke again. "Hey, does Ronnie Anne know that you… well, you know?"

He frowned at the driver. "You mean the fact that I do gymnastics?"

"Lincoln, wait, I don't mean—"

"I get it. And, no, she doesn't know, but I'm gonna tell her." He turned to the window and muttered, "thanks for reminding me, I guess."

Lori frowned. "Lincoln, I—"

"I'm gonna listen to some music for a while." He fished his earphones out of his pocket, untangling them and plugging them into his phone. "Let me know when we have to stop or anything."

Once he put his earphones into his ears, Lori knew that he was going to be silent for the rest of the trip, so she sighed regretfully, lightly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. 'Don't panic, there's still plenty of time,' she thought to herself, which allowed her to set those thoughts aside and focus on the road ahead.

* * *

In Great Lakes City, the streets were busy as ever, that familiar holiday feeling beginning to wash over everyone. Stores were beginning to put up holiday decorations, Christmas lights were put up at certain stores and many were getting started on their Christmas shopping. However, if you thought that things were festive outside, that was nothing compared to what it was like inside one particular apartment.

The living room was filled with a Latin family— two grandparents, two adults and three boys. The boys were decorating a Christmas tree, though the ginger haired infant was mostly just playing with baubles, rolling them around like balls. The elderly man in the brownish green jacket, beige shirt and dark green pants sat asleep in his chair, his snores bristling his grey moustache. A woman in a pink and green dress was painting the family as they did their things, while a bespectacled man in a green sweater and brown trousers held a step ladder for a woman in a navy dress with white fringe.

"Mama, are you sure we should be putting the Christmas decorations up this early?" the man in glasses asked to the elderly woman.

"Si, Carlos," the woman replied, climbing the step ladder with tinsel in hand. "School doesn't end until Friday, so the little ones won't have as much time to help decorate this year." As she prepared to nail the tinsel above the curtain, she heard a knock at the door, making her gasp excitedly. "They're here!"

She threw the tinsel to Carlos and stepped down from the ladder, walking past her alert family to answer the door. However, her excitement was suppressed when she saw a young Asian girl with long brown hair, wearing a blue puff jacket, grey joggers and pink ear muffs. "Oh, it's you, Sid," Rosa greeted. "Forgive me, I thought it might have been Lori and Lincoln."

"Oh, good! They're not here yet!" Sid replied with a relieved tone. "So, is Ronnie Anne in here?"

"Of course! Come on in!" She stepped aside, allowing the girl into the apartment. "I think she's in Carlota's room."

They then heard arguing from two other girls, making Sid nod. "I think you're right."

She walked down the hallway, just in time to see Ronnie Anne burst out of one of the rooms on the left, wearing an orange hoodie with a blue 'RW' on the front and black cargo pants, and looking annoyed. A taller girl, dressed in a mint green parka and dark purple winter leggings came out a second later.

"What is the matter with you? Don't you want to look nice for your boyfriend?" the taller girl complained.

"For the last time, Carlota! He's not my boyfriend!" Ronnie Anne argued. "I'm not putting on makeup any time my friend visits us!" It was then that she noticed Sid, who gave an awkward wave to her bestie. "Oh, hey, Sid. Sorry about that."

"No worries."

"I'm glad you're here, Sid," Carlota said to the guest, gesturing to her cousin. "Don't you think that Lincoln would appreciate it if Ronnie Anne looked nice for him?"

"I'm not trying to woo him," Ronnie Anne cut in. "He's not my boyfriend, and I don't wear makeup normally."

The teen rolled her eyes. "No duh! You save that for when you want to look nice, like when a special someone comes to see you."

Ronnie Anne growled through gritted teeth, her fist clenching. "He's not my special someone, and he's not _going _to be. How many times do I have to say it?"

"Hey, you're only lying to yourself."

She walked away, leaving Ronnie Anne to fume some more. "Unbelievable! No matter how many times I tell them, they just won't let it go."

"Yeah, I can only imagine Adelaide's gonna be like that when I get a crush," Sid agreed. "Still, it's not often you get to see Lincoln, so we're still gonna have fun, right?"

This brought a grin to her friend's face. "Totally. I told the others we'd meet them at the skate park, and I told Lincoln to bring his board. You got yours?"

"It's in my room. I'll grab it on the way down."

"Okay." They heard another knock at the door, which Ronnie Anne started to answer. "I've got it!" She opened the door, being met with the sight of Lincoln and Lori. "Hey, Lame-O."

"What's up, dork?" the boy greeted back as he and his sister were let into the apartment. "Jordan says hi."

"Oh, cool. Think you can tell her hi for me?"

"Sure." He saw Sid and gave a small wave to her. "Hey, Sid."

"Hey, Lincoln. Nice to see you again."

"You too."

"Lincoln!" they heard someone call out as the boy in the yellow top, blue shorts and red cape came into the hallway, giving the white haired boy a hug that he was happy to return.

"Hey there, buddy."

The rest of the Casagrande's weren't far behind, entering the hallway to greet the two Louds. Among them, the young boy in the red coat and navy pants approached Lori, combing his hair before giving a wink to the girl. "Hola, mi amor."

Lori rolled her eyes before replying, "hi, Carl!"

"Babe!" Bobby was heard shouting as he pushed his way through the crowd, his big smile matched by Lori's.

"Boo Boo Bear!"

She walked past Carl so she could hug her boyfriend, ignoring the angry growl the kid gave. "Whatever."

"How was your trip?" Rosa asked. "You two must be starving."

"No thank you, Mrs Casagrande," Lori answered first. "Me and Bobby are probably going to have lunch together."

"Fair enough. What about you, Lincoln? I'm sure you'd like something to eat."

"Actually, Abuela, we were planning to grab hotdogs at the park," Ronnie Anne intervened. "We should actually get going, they're probably waiting for us."

"Oh, nonsense! I can whip something up, no problem!"

"That's okay, Mrs Casagrande," Lincoln insisted. "I don't want to be a bother, and I don't want to keep them waiting."

"Well, if you change your mind, then let me know."

"We will." Ronnie turned to her friend. "I see you brought your board. You ready?"

"You bet."

"Have fun, Lincoln," Lori called to her brother as he and his friends made their way out of the apartment, receiving a thumbs up in response from the boy. Once they were gone and the rest of the family went back to what they originally had in mind, Bobby turned to his girlfriend.

"So, you ready to go too, Babe?"

"In a second, yeah."

He reached out and grabbed her hands, looking her in the eyes with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking about things, I guess."

He knew what 'things' she was referring to, so he pulled her close and gave her an assuring smile. "Babe, you'll work this out. I'm sure he wants to patch things up too."

She looked down as she nodded. "I know, I know. I'm probably overthinking this, aren't I?"

"You're not overthinking anything. You're just concerned, and that's good. If you weren't, then it would mean you didn't care, which I know you do."

She couldn't resist smiling, looking back up to meet his gaze once more. "You're too good to me, Boo Boo Bear." They both leaned in, sharing a short yet tender kiss on the lips. "Okay, I think I'm ready to go now. Where are we going?"

He smirked as he linked his arm with hers. "You'll see."

* * *

Elsewhere, Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Sid were calmly making their way towards the skate park, all carrying their boards under their arms. Lincoln and Sid were getting to know each other better, since they didn't speak much the first time they met, and they only knew what Ronnie Anne had told each of them about the other. Other than that, they mostly spoke about things that hey had been up to recently.

"So, do you fight the robots, or do the robots fight each other?" Lincoln asked.

"It's mostly the second one," Ronnie Anne explained, "though there's a little bit of the first too. If you thought Lynn was tough, then you better hope you don't anger Becky. The two of them in a fight would be something fierce."

Lincoln's eyes went wide, so he looked to Sid for affirmation. "I can't speak for whoever Lynn is, but Becky gets real crazy in the ring." The boy gave a whistle of surprise. "Yep. Anyway, what about you? Any new hobbies?"

"Yeah, you told me you'd taken up sport," Ronnie Anne added with a grin. "What was it again? Dodgeball?"

He scratched his cheek nervously with his finger, giving a sheepish smile. "Uh… yeah, about that…"

"You were lying, weren't you?"

Lincoln's eyes widened. "Wait, you knew?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too hard to tell. Besides, when I spoke to Jordan a while back, she didn't tell me what it was you actually do but I could tell she was hiding it for you."

He gave a small gulp out of guilt. "Yeah, s-sorry about that. It wasn't personal, I just… hadn't figured out to tell the others, and I didn't want Lori to find out through Bobby."

"That's horrible!" Sid spoke with disappointment.

"Actually, Sid, I kind of get it," Ronnie Anne interrupted, furthering her friend's surprise. "In a big family, it's hard to keep secrets. You've got to think about the loose ends." She turned to the white haired boy and added, "that's why you did it, right?"

"Yeah. So… does this mean we're cool?"

"We're cool."

While Lincoln sighed in relief, Sid was shaking her head. "I don't get it, though. Why would you hide… whatever it is you do from your sisters?"

"Think you've got to ask this first, Sid," Ronnie pointed out as she raised an eyebrow to the boy. "If it's not dodgeball, then what have you taken up?"

He sighed again, knowing this was coming. "Promise you won't laugh?" The two girls looked to each other, then nodded to him. "I've been doing gymnastics."

"No way! That sounds cool!"

To put it lightly, he was surprised by the enthusiasm of Sid's response. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I remember seeing that at the Olympics on TV! Those moves looked so awesome!"

"So, do you do the whole ribbon dance thing?" Ronnie Anne inquired, to which Lincoln shook his head.

"No, I do the vault, rings, bars and pommel horse."

"Okay. Still, that's pretty cool. Guessing you were worried your sisters wouldn't think so?"

He nodded as he rubbed the back oh his neck. "Yeah. They know now, though. They weren't thrilled to hear I hid that from them, but we've patched things up, more or less."

"Well, that's good," Sid remarked. "At least everything's okay with your family now. I wouldn't want Adelaide to be mad at me for too long." The Loud boy gave a chuckle, though he was fortunate that his friends didn't notice the nervousness behind it, with Sid pointing ahead. "I see the others!"

Lincoln looked ahead and saw the open gate to the skate park, many kids already skating up the ramps and half pipes. Stood next to the gate were three kids that Lincoln recognised. One was Casey, a dark skinned boy wearing a red zip up hoodie, black jeans and a black and white chequered hat; one was Sameer, a boy with tan skin and thick, bushy brown hair, wearing a black puff coat and grey jeans; the other was Nikki, a tall, fair skinned girl with blonde hair over one eye, dressed somewhat inappropriately for the weather in a blue hoodie with the hood up and ripped jeans.

As the trio stood by the gate, Nikki saw their friends and Lincoln heading their way. "There they are," she called out, alerting the boys as the trio crossed the road to get to them. "Good to see you again, Loud."

"Good to see you too, guys."

"How are things back in Royal Woods?" Sameer asked.

"About the same as usual. How's city life?"

"Yeah, same as always."

"Hey, are we gonna be skating, or are we just gonna stand here and chat?" Casey pointed out, to which Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes.

"Dude, relax. We've got all day." She gestured for the group to follow her. "Come on, let's go." So, they entered the skate park, the sounds of cheering and shouts from the other skaters becoming more apparent. "So, are we gonna grab some grub first, or should we just hit the decks?"

"Skate first, food later! Let's do this!"

Casey's declaration was followed by cheers as he ran and threw his board forward, hopping onto it and dropping into the bowl.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Sameer shouted, him and Nikki following their friend's example. Sid followed after them, while Ronnie Anne turned to Lincoln.

"Let's see if your balance is any better, gymnastics boy," she taunted before following suit. Lincoln shook his head and chuckled, strapping on his helmet before joining his friends for a day of fun.


	77. Ch 77- Confide With Me

Lori and Bobby had spent a good few hours together in the city, the young couple more than happy to share each other's company while they had the chance. The two of them started off by getting lunch at a local café, with Bobby paying for the both of them. Lori enjoyed a nice cup of tea and some sandwiches, while Bobby drank some hot chocolate, and their lunch was the only thing stopping them from pleasantly conversing with each other. After that, he took her to a small karaoke club, where they sang some of their favourite songs together, and Lori was pleasantly surprised to find that Bobby had a decent singing voice. Not the type of voice that a professional would have, but more than good enough for her. After that, they took a quick break in the park, the cold air giving Bobby extra reason to wrap his arms around Lori and hold her close. They didn't stay for too long before going to the Sky Needle, where Lori was blown away by the breathtaking view. Bobby couldn't resist saying that she was breathtaking, which expectedly had her swooning over the boy in spite of its cheesiness.

When they were done there, they took the subway back to the apartment building, walking arm in arm the rest of the way with Lori resting her head on his shoulder. "I miss this," she said somewhat breathily. "Being able to walk together, whenever we wanted, feeling like it's just the two of us… it almost makes me wish I didn't have to go home."

"I know, Babe," he agreed, "but I think it makes me enjoy these moments so much more, you know?"

Her smile only grew more loving. "You are too sweet!" He gave a soft chuckle before she added, "still, it won't be too long before we'll be doing this together at college."

"I know. How are you feeling about that?"

"Honestly, I'm still a little mixed about it. The chance to finally start my life for real, the chance to see you everyday again and the chance to get my degree is all exciting, but… I don't know how I'm going to handle being away from my home and my family for that long."

"Yeah, I know. It's gonna be a big change, but I'm gonna be there for you, all the way."

She nodded. "I know you are, Boo Boo Bear, and I'm literally grateful for it."

He smiled at knowing this, but that smile faded when he decided to say something else. "So, um, speaking of… family…"

His hesitant pause was quickly noticed by Lori, who removed her head from his shoulder to look at him. "It's okay. I think I know what you're going to ask, so you can ask it. I don't mind."

"... do you know what you're going to say to him?"

She looked down slightly, giving a soft shake of her head. "I think I will when we get to the diner, but… right now, not so much."

"Well, if you don't want to do it alone, I could sit with you and Lincoln so you can ask, or we could get Nie Nie to help."

She shook her head again. "No. I appreciate the thought, but I need to do this myself, and I might not be fully ready, but… if I don't do it now, it'll only get harder."

"Well, I hope it goes well."

"Me too."

As they turned the corner, they saw that Lincoln and his friends were sat on the steps outside the apartment building, chatting with each other. The closer she got, the more she could tell that they seemed to have had a good day. Eventually, they were close enough that the Loud boy noticed them approaching the steps.

"Hey, Lori," he greeted, alerting the others to the high schoolers' presence.

"Hey," she greeted back. "You guys have a good time?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Anyway, we need to get going soon. I'm gonna say goodbye to the Casagrande's first, so just wait here, okay?"

"Okay." He shuffled slightly so Lori and Bobby could enter the building, giving the older boy a fist bump as he passed him. Once the door had shut behind them, Lincoln looked to his friends again. "Well, it's been fun, you guys."

"Same here, Lincoln," Casey agreed. "It was cool hanging out with you again."

"You too, guys."

"So, what are you gonna do when you get back, huh?" Sid asked. "Gonna hit the vaults?"

He rolled his eyes, pretending to be ignorant to the chuckles of the Asian girl. "Nah, practice is on Sunday's, so that'll be tomorrow." The chuckles returned, this time louder and with everyone joining in. "I'll probably just read some comics or something before bed, and deal with whatever my sisters want me to help them with."

"So, basically, whatever they want you to help with and that's it." Lincoln nodded to Ronnie Anne's statement. "Yeah, that sounds right."

"It won't be so bad, especially after today, so I don't mind too much."

"Well, either way, it was good seeing you again, Lame-O."

"You too, dork."

The door opened behind them, prompting the kids to stand up as Lori and Bobby came out, followed by Rosa carrying a Tupperware box of foil wrapped food.

"These are for your family to enjoy whenever," the elder told Lori as she gave her the tub. "It was wonderful to see you again, Lori."

"And you, Mrs Casagrande."

Rosa then looked at Lincoln and added, "and it's always nice to see you, Lincoln."

"It was nice seeing you too, ma'am."

"Well, we had best be going," Lori reminded. "We don't want to be caught in traffic."

Bobby took hold of her hands and looked in her eyes. "I'll call you later, Babe."

"I look forward to it, Boo Boo Bear."

The two then proceeded to kiss, which made Lincoln and Ronnie Anne pretend to gag before chuckling. "Well, I'll see you later, Lincoln."

"See you soon, Ronnie Anne." They shared a hug, which Sid joined in on before it became a group hug for the six kids. When they eventually let go, Lincoln and Lori walked towards the van, waving goodbye to the others. They got into the front seats and attached their seatbelts. "So, are we heading home?"

"Yeah, but we need to get gas on the way, so we'll stop for some food while we're at it. Sound good?" He shrugged, so she started the engine. "Alright. Here we go."

* * *

The first half of the drive back to Royal Woods was pleasant enough. Traffic was busy on the highway, but it moved enough that they only had the odd couple of stops to deal with. After initial conversation between the siblings about what they got up to with their friends and boyfriend respectively, Lincoln was quiet for the majority of the ride, once again listening to music with his earphones. This time, however, Lori didn't mind, as she used the quiet to think about what she might say when they stopped for dinner. She still wasn't too eager about the forthcoming conversation between herself and her brother, but she knew that it had to be done, and that she didn't want to have to wait for another opportunity.

They eventually came off of the highway to a diner, which had a petrol station next to it. The diner was homely enough and had a green neon sign that simply said **Mel's**. Lori decided to fuel the van before they could get fuel for themselves, so she drove into the petrol station and stopped the van so she could get fuel. Lincoln stayed in the car, listening to a Smooch song for the few minutes it took Lori to refill the tank, and as the song ended, he heard the driver side door shut, turning to see Lori had gotten back in so she could park the car in front of the diner.

"Right," she said, shutting off the engine and turning to her brother. "Ready for some food?"

"Sure," he replied, taking his seatbelt off.

With that, they got out of Vanzilla, Lori locking the van before they went into the diner. Heading through the front doors, they heard country music, which was coming from a jukebox in the far corner of the room. There were a few diners in the building, with a couple of truckers sat at the counter and a couple of families, one sat in a red leather booth and one sat at a table. The two Louds walked over to one of the aluminium tables near the window, sitting down in the aluminium chairs that accompanied it and taking a look at the menus provided.

Eventually, the waitress— a forty something woman with her grey hair in a bun, dressed in a pink dress shirt and skirt and white apron— came to their table with a notepad and pencil in hand. "Welcome to Mel's," she greeted, though not too enthusiastically. "I'm Erin, and I'll be your waitress. What can I get you?"

"I'll have a cheeseburger and a side salad, with a glass of water," Lori asked first, the waitress writing it down.

"Okay. What about you, kid?"

"Um, I guess I'll have a cheeseburger too," he said, then looked to Lori. "Is it alright if I get some fries?"

"Sure."

"Okay, so two cheeseburgers, one salad, one basket of fries. Would you like ketchup?"

"Yes, please," Lincoln replied. "And, um, a soda."

"Alright. It'll be with you in about ten minutes. I'll bring your sides when they're ready."

"Thanks." Lori watched the waitress walk away, before turning to her brother. "You okay to stay here while I clean up quickly?"

"Sure."

She smiled as she stood up, giving him a quick ruffle of his hair. "Thanks, twerp."

He rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out while she walked away. He was going to look at the group chat and see what his friends had been up to, but he saw that his battery was running low, so he decided to put it away in case he needed to call someone or someone wanted to call him. As he waited for Lori to return and for their food to arrive, he decided to look around. There was a quaint atmosphere to the establishment, with the few diners there at that time all seemingly enjoying their company and the food, and the music that was playing was kind of relaxing, in a weird way. 'It seems nice,' he thought to himself, his brow furrowing, 'but why did she choose to stop here? We passed a couple of stop points with fast food joints. We could have stopped at one of those.'

He didn't put too much thought into it, because he saw the waitress come back shortly after with a tray holding their starters and drinks. "Is your friend coming back?" Erin asked, setting the food and drinks on the table.

"Sister," Lincoln clarified. "She's just using the restroom."

"Alright. Well, your burgers will be here soon, so enjoy."

He thanked her as she walked away, just before Lori returned to sit down at the table. "You didn't have to wait, Lincoln. You could have started, I wouldn't have minded."

"They only just got her," he told her, making her feel a bit stupid as he took a ketchup packet and put some on his fries.

"Oh… my bad." She tried to say something, but seeing that Lincoln was now focused on his food, she decided it was best not to, instead opting to tuck into her salad. 'Get it together, Lori,' she chastised in her head. 'Just start with some casual talk.' So, she swallowed her first mouthful before asking, "how are your fries?"

"They're alright," he told her. "Bit salty, but the ketchup helps. You want one?"

"Sure." She grabbed one of the fries and bit half of it off, chewing before her eyes winced. "A bit salty? It's like there's more salt than fry!" The boy chuckled, bringing a smile back to her face. "I think I'll leave those with you."

"Fair enough. How's your salad?"

"It's alright. I'm not that fond of rocket, but the rest of it's nice."

"That's fair. Can't like everything, I guess."

She nodded, taking another bite of her salad as she heard a new country song start on the jukebox, making her smile grow. "Hey, I know this song!"

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yeah, when I was little, Mom would sing this to me if I couldn't sleep. Her and Dad love country, and though I don't really get the appeal, I still like this song."

"It is kind of nice… still, think I'd rather listen to Smooch."

The older of the two rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, I still prefer other bands, but that's not what it's about. It's that feel of nostalgia, you know? It takes me back to a simpler time."

"You mean… back when there were less of us?"

She frowned, surprised and upset by the suggestion. "Lincoln, of course that's not what I meant. I meant, back when I wasn't thinking about what I wanted my career to be or what college I wanted to go to. Sure, you guys are a handful at times, but you mean the world to me, and you've always been there for me when I needed you. I wouldn't change having you guys around for the world."

It was now Lincoln's turn to frown, feeling guilty for what he said. "Sorry…"

She shook her head softly, giving him a gentle smile. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, so don't worry."

He felt somewhat relieved by this, and as they continued to eat, the mood picked up again as they chatted with each other. It didn't take too long for her to finish her salad and for him to finish his fries, so by the time he was wiping the grease, sauce and salt from his fingers, they saw Erin returning with their cheeseburgers. Two perfectly cooked beef patties topped with slices of American cheese, plus lettuce, ketchup and tomatoes, held between sesame seed buns. She placed one in front of each of the Loud kids, and accepted their thanks before she walked away.

"Wow, this looks good!" Lori commented, taking their burger in her hands as Lincoln did the same.

"It sure does," he replied, the scent hitting his nostrils.

"Well, let's dig in!" With a nod, they both took their first bites of their burgers, and straight away, Lori gave an audible sigh of splendor as the taste of the burger hit her tongue, the seasoning giving it the perfect edge. "That is _so_ good!" She quickly took another bite, before she noticed that Lincoln was just staring at his burger, silently chewing. She gulped down her mouthful before asking him, "what's wrong? Is there something wrong with your burger?"

He blinked, as if snapped out of a daze, and looked at his sister. "No, no, the burger's great," he told her, before realising that he was talking with his mouthful, so he gulped it down. "The burger's great, really."

"Then, what's up? You can tell me, you know."

"Well… it's just… why are we here?"

She said nothing for a couple of seconds, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I might be imagining this, but… I kind of feel like you _brought_ us here. If you just wanted food, there were other places we passed that we could have stopped at, so… why here?"

Once again, she was silent for a few seconds. However, this time, she put the burger down and looked at her lap with a soft, almost sad chuckle. "You know… if it wasn't for Lisa, I'd think you were the smartest in the family." She looked back up at her brother, seeing that he was confused by what she had said. "Lincoln… how long do you think's it been since we last talked like this?"

"Um… I don't know."

"Well, I can't say exactly, but… it's been at least a couple of weeks. I've barely spoken to you since… well, since you told us the truth." It was now that Lincoln understood what Lori was talking about, and it let him notice that she seemed nervous as she spoke, so he decided not to interrupt her. "It took me about a week to realise just how much our reaction affected you, because at first I was upset about it. It's literally not an excuse for how I acted, but… I've realised that I was that upset because, when I go to college, I'm not going to be around to find out stuff like this. I'm not going to be in your lives like I am now, so I'm going to have to find out over the phone if any of you get a new hobby, or a new friend, or anything like that."

She shook her head, giving a sigh. "Still, that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have acted like that, and more importantly, I should've spoken to you about this sooner."

"So… why didn't you?" he asked in a quiet, almost strained voice.

"Because I didn't know how, or when, or what to say. I've spent the past week watching you make up with the others, and I wanted to do the same, but… I just didn't know how to. I kept thinking of ways I could approach you about it, but I didn't want to come across the wrong way or make you think I didn't mean it, because I do. I mean it when I say… that, I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm sorry for forcing you to tell us the truth, I'm sorry for laughing, and I'm sorry for yelling at you. I think it's great that you do gymnastics, because it's something you enjoy, and if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

She then allowed a moment of silence, feeling a weight lift from her conscience. Of course, she knew there was still a weight there, and that the rest of it wouldn't be lifted until she and her brother had truly made up. With that in mind, she looked to her brother and was concerned when she saw him looking down at the desk, unable to see his face for his white hair. She was going to ask him if he was okay, but he spoke before she was able to.

"This is all my fault."

The words alone stunned her, but what stunned her more was how he said it— the regret was clear in his voice, which sounded kind of choked. Combined with the fact that his body seemed to be softly shaking, she realised that he was starting to cry.

"Lincoln…"

"I should have just told you from the start. I shouldn't have made this some… s-stupid secret to begin with." She saw the way his hands were clenched into fists. A first tear hit the table, and knew that more would be coming, so she left her seat and went over to her brother, crouching down to his height and putting her hands on his shoulders. "I was worried about how you were going to react, b-but… it's my fault you reacted that way."

"Lincoln, stop. Look at me." He gently lifted his head, allowing her to see his teary eyes, and allowing him to see her warm smile. "It's okay. I'm not upset at you, not anymore, and I know that the others aren't anymore either. I'm just sorry that I acted how I did, because you didn't deserve that. Everyone has their secrets. I'm just sorry I made you tell us yours."

He shook his head, giving a small sniffle. "I'm sorry I made it a secret to begin with." With that, he hugged her, the girl more than willing to hug him back. She saw that a couple of people— namely the mother of one of the families and one of the waitresses— were looking over at them, but she ignored them and focused on comforting her brother. They held the embrace for a good twenty seconds or so, Lori gently rubbing his back as he let the tears run out. He eventually broke the hug by backing out, rubbing his eyes to get the remaining tears. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's fine."

"I meant for—"

"I know you did, and I forgive you. Question is… do you forgive me?"

He nodded. "Of course I do."

She smiled, pulling her brother into a hug. She whispered "thank you" into his ear, holding each other for a few more seconds, before letting go and going back to his seat. "Come on. Let's not let this go cold."

"Right," he agreed, picking up his burger again. He was going to take another bite, but he decided to say something first. "Hey, Lori?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Do you think it's weird that I do gymnastics?"

She shook her head. "We might be a normal family, but there's nothing weird about it. Just different, and there's nothing wrong with that." She saw him consider those words, before he returned to eating. Lori did the same, a smile on her face. 'There's nothing wrong with that at all.'

* * *

They finished their meal, and once Lori had paid for it, they returned home. The remainder of the journey was smoother, both in terms of traffic and mood. Lincoln was more talkative this time round, and the two amicably spoke about whatever came to their minds until they returned to Royal Woods. When they got out of the van, with Lori carrying the Tupperware, she stopped Lincoln before he could enter.

"Hey," she told him, "how about we watch a movie later? Just us."

He smiled at the idea and replied, "sure. Your room or mine?"

"Yours. You can pick, too." She saw his smile grow, making her chuckle. "Now, go on, twerp. I'll join you in an hour or so."

He nodded and went into the house, his older sister following him. While he went upstairs, Lori went into the kitchen, where her father was washing the dishes and her mother was sat at the table, drinking a coffee. "Hey, we're back."

Rita turned to Lori and smiled. "Hey. How was it?"

"It was good. Mrs Casagrande gave us some tamales."

"Put them on the counter, I'll put them away," Lynn Sr told her, the girl doing just that. "So, where's Lincoln?"

"He went upstairs to put his stuff away."

"And, is… everything okay with you two?" Rita asked, the confident nod that Lori gave making her smile. "That's good to hear."

"Same here, Mom. Same here."


	78. Ch 78- Bouncing Back

Sunday came, and Jordan was knelt down on the carpet in the living room of her house, petting Ajax as she waited for her friends to turn up so they could walk to gymnastics practice together. The Australian Shepherd had already been walked by Jen, but he was still very hyper, lifting his paws up onto her shoulders so he could lick her face. "Ajax, settle down!" she giggled, trying not to let the dog push her over. "You're gonna make me pee from laughing too hard!" Of course, being a dog, Ajax didn't understand what this meant, so he continued to lick her, and after one timely jump, he succeeded in knocking her down onto her back. The soft carpet cushioned her landing, but she nearly had the breath taken from her when her pet climbed onto her to continue licking, her giggles now blown out hysterical laughing. "Okay! Okay! I- I surrender!"

Her saviour came in the form of Jen, who walked over and pulled the giddy canine off of the sixth grader. "Geez, did Mom put coffee in your water bowl this morning?" she joked, turning to her sister as she sat up again. "You might want to go tidy up before your friends get here."

"Yeah, you're- you're right," she breathlessly replied. "If they- if they arrive, just- tell them I'm- upstairs."

"You got it." So, the younger girl began to head upstairs, leaving her older sister to keep the dog in her arms as he tried to chase after her. "Seriously, what is up with you today?" Ajax barked in response, causing her to chuckle. "You're a goofy boy, aren't you?" She heard the doorbell ring, so she shouted "I'll get it" before heading to answer the door, being met with the sight of Lincoln. "Hey there, Linc- woah!"

Ajax, excited to see the boy, managed to wriggle out of Jen's arms and leap at the boy, who caught him and laughed as he was given the same treatment Jordan received. "Hey there, buddy!" he greeted. "You're happy to see me, aren't you?" He looked at Jen as best he could, the white wriggling ball of fluff blocking his vision. "Hey, Jen."

"Sorry about him. I don't know what's up with him today."

"Nah, he's fine. Kind of reminds me of my younger sisters whenever they get chocolate." Jen chuckled again, following Lincoln into the living room, where he set the dog back on the ground. "Kind of weird to think that this little guy once hated me."

"I find that hard to believe, he loves people. What, did he growl at you or something?"

"No, he… kind of tore up my clothing."

Jen stifled a laugh, covering her mouth as she saw him blush. "You're joking… well, as funny as that sounds, I don't think I'll ask how that happened."

"Thanks. So, uh, the others haven't already left, have they?"

"What, you think I'd let you into the house if they had?"

"I've been pranked worse in the past."

Jen shook her head, bemused. "No, they haven't left yet. I don't know where her friends are, but Jordan's just cleaning up. You aren't the only one this goofball's been affectionate to." He chuckled at this, and before Jen could say something else, she saw her sister appear, her scarf and bow now straightened. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey, Lincoln," she said to her friend. "I see Ajax found you."

"Yeah, he found me. And licked me, a lot." The girl giggled, making his smile grow. "Still, he's fine. I get the same from my dog Charles sometimes, just never quite like this."

"I don't get why he's acting so weird today. He was fine before lunch."

"Maybe it was something he ate?"

"I'll go check," Jen decided, leaving the kids by themselves so she could follow the boy's suggestion.

"So," Jordan asked, "how was your trip to the city?"

"It was pretty good, actually. It was fun to see Ronnie Anne and her friends again, and we had a good time at the skate park." The girl raised an eyebrow at his answer. "What?"

"Nothing. I just never would have thought of you as a skater boy."

"I'm not that into skateboarding, but it's something Ronnie Anne kind of got me into, and a bunch of her friends are into it too. Just don't expect me to do any crazy tricks."

"I won't. Did anything else happen?"

"Actually, yeah. On the way back, me and Lori stopped at a diner, and… well, we finally made up for what happened a couple of weeks ago."

She gasped, giving a small clap in excitement. "For real? Lincoln, that's awesome!" She couldn't stop herself from giving the boy a hug, the Loud being caught off guard but returning it nonetheless. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks."

She didn't hold the hug for too long, eventually letting go. "So, is that the last person you need to make up with?"

"Yep. That's everyone."

"I bet it feels good to know that."

"Yeah, you're right, and I know what you're going to say."

"Oh? What am I going to say?"

"That I should have told them from the beginning, and that they were always going to support me. You're right there, too."

She smiled at the fact he had learned his lesson, but shook her head. "I wasn't going to say any of that. I figured you already realised that."

"Oh. Well, then, what were you going to say?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe if you'd let me, I would tell you!" The boy gave a slight chuckle, holding his hands up in surrender. "Thank you. As I was _going _to say, I think that it's great that you and your sisters have made up, because I think you're a great guy, and I think they see that. I think you just needed to see that they see it."

Lincoln didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, the words that she said ringing true in his mind, before he smiled with a small blush. "Wow… thank you, Jordan."

She gave a curious glance as she asked, "what do you mean?"

"Well, this past couple of months, you've done a lot for me. You introduced me to gymnastics, you kept this secret from your sister even though you didn't really understand why I made it one, you helped me with telling Leni and you helped me to put things into perspective after things kind of blew up. You've been a great friend, Jordan, and I wish I had seen that sooner. So, yeah. Thank you."

The boy's smile, combined with the sincerity in his words, made her heart melt. A gentle flush taking over her cheeks and a coo escaping her lips as she put a hand to her chest. "Lincoln… that's so sweet of you to say! I think that you're overestimating me, though."

He shook his head with confidence. "Not at all. You are a great friend, and I think I'm lucky to have you as a friend."

She could feel her cheeks heating up, so she covered them with her hands. "Lincoln, you're too much!"

"Okay, I think I found the-" Jen paused, stopping just a couple of meters away from the two kids. She grinned when she saw the blushes on their faces. "What's going on in here, huh?"

Both kids blushed more, with Lincoln taking the initiative and clearing his throat. "We, uh, we were just talking."

Jordan nodded as she added, "so, uh, what did you find, sis?"

Though she wanted to question them more, Jen decided to spare them the embarrassment and answer her sister's question. "Well, I followed your suggestion, Lincoln, and I checked the kitchen to see if he had eaten anything he shouldn't have. Look what I found."

She held up a bag of dog treats, which was notable in that it was quite empty and had a hole in the side that looked like it had been chewed out. "How did he get into those?!"

"Got me, sis. Someone put it in the bottom cupboard by mistake, but I don't remember it being open. He must have learnt how to open it."

"Still, who put them in there? The last time I gave Ajax one of those was—" As realisation hit her, her blush grew even brighter and her smile turned sheepish. "Oops…"

Jen gave a sigh and a shake of her head. "No wonder he's so hyper today. You know what sugar does to him."

"Sorry." She felt a little nudge at her elbow, which she turned to see came from Ajax prodding her with his nose. She gave a small smile and returned to petting the dog. "No more treats for you for a while, right, boy?"

The dog barked, causing the girl to giggle again. When they heard a knock at the door, however, Ajax leapt past her to see who it was. Jen rolled her eyes. "I better make sure he doesn't leap onto them too."

Jen walked away again, allowing the two kids to stand up. "Hey, do you have tissues anywhere?" Lincoln asked. "I think I should probably wipe Ajax's slobber off before we go."

"There's some in the kitchen," she explained. "Do you want me to get you some?"

"No, that's okay, I think I know where it is."

"Okay." So, he disappeared into the kitchen, just moments before Mollie, Kat and Sadie entered the living room. "Hey, girls. Where's Joy?"

"She said in the group chat that she's visiting her granny," Sadie explained. "Apparently, they were meant to go last week, but the car broke down or something."

"So, where's Lincoln at?" Kat asked. "Is he late for once? Because I need to get back at him for the teasing from last week."

"Kat, it was just a joke, let it go." The raven haired girl rolled her eyes, to Jordan's amusement. "Anyway, he's already here, he's just in the kitchen."

"Doing what?" Jordan was going to answer, but the second she saw the Rosato girl's blush, Mollie grinned. "Something happened here, didn't it?"

Jordan's cheeks grew more red as she shook her head. "It's not what you think, honest! It's to do with Ajax."

"Oh, really?" Her grin stayed strong when she saw Lincoln return, wiping his cheek with a tissue. "Sure seems like something happened here."

"Yeah, Ajax happened," Lincoln remarked, throwing the tissue into a trash can. "Never had so much slobber on me in my life!"

"He did seem pretty hyper," Kat agreed, with Sadie nodding as well. "Guess he just needs a walk?"

"No, he already had one," Jordan pointed out, only confusing her friends.

"Then, why was he so hyper?"

Jordan gave another sheepish chuckle. "It's a long story."

"Well, you better tell it while we walk," Mollie pointed out. "We don't want to be late for practice."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." She gripped the strap of her gymnastics bag and followed her friends towards the front door. As the others exited the house, she turned to her sister, who was attaching a leash and collar to Ajax. "We're heading out, sis."

"Okay. I'll let Mom know when she gets back," she replied, the younger girl nodding back before following her friends. Once the door was shut, she looked down to the dog. "Let's see if we can work that sugar off, huh, boy?" Ajax barked happily, jumping up to lick her again, making her sigh. "Yep. No more treats for a while."

* * *

So, the six kids made their way across town towards practice. After some initial laughter at Jordan's slip up with the dog treats, they talked about stuff such the girls' trip to the mall, Lincoln's trip to Great Lakes City, the upcoming winter holidays and school. The girls were quite relieved to hear Lincoln say that he had made up with his sister, having known from the boy just how much he was struggling with telling them before, and even if they disagreed with him keeping his hobby a secret from his family, they wouldn't ever want him to get hurt because of it. To them, it was as if Lincoln had become another member of their group, and they enjoyed having him around, though the fact that they knew how Jordan felt for the boy definitely helped with fitting the boy in their dynamic. Not that they'd ever tell him that, of course.

When they eventually arrived at the sports centre, they went to their respective changing rooms and got changed into their gymnastics clothes, before Chris eventually turned up and began the training session. They started with a regular warm up and series of stretches, before he took them to the tumble track. He began by teaching them how to do a basic Salto and whip back, using crash mats to teach them progressively and helping the kids as they worked wherever they needed it, then began to teach them to do different variations of the two moves and chain them together. As the hour ran out, he decided to have everyone try a run with a forward tuck salto, an aerial round off and a whip back.

"Okay, everyone! Let's try one more time, so keep it up!" he called out. "And, go!"

Lincoln watched as the other kids went one by one along the tumble track, doing their best to execute the routine. Since most of them were beginners, some would stumble through the moves, some would falter at the landing, and even the more experienced of them wobbled a little on the landing. As he saw Jessie— a younger girl with blonde hair in a white leotard, who was also new at the taster session— approach the track, he knew he was next, so he took a deep breath. 'Here we go. Third time's the charm.'

"Very good, Jessie!" he heard Chris commend, the girl managing to stay up by stepping back a couple of steps before walking off the track. "Lincoln! Go!" Lincoln nodded and took off down the track, building momentum before making the first move, tucking his knees into the Salto, then making the round off into the whip back. He bounced back off of the final manoeuvre, and though he had to wave his arms for stability, he was able to keep standing. This brought a smile to his lips, the boy making a small cheer and fist pump as he cleared the track. "Way to go, Lincoln!"

"Thanks," he told the instructor as he ran back to his friends. Jordan held up a hand, which he high fives without hesitation. "Glad I got it in the end."

"Hey, that's what practice is for," she reminded, to which he nodded.

"Sure is."

The final girl finished her run, with Chris commending her. "Okay, everyone! You've done great so far, so we'll take a five minute break before we move on to the trampette. Make sure to get something to drink, okay?"

No one argued against this, all splitting off to get their own drinks. Lincoln grabbed his bottle of water from a nearby bench and went into the corridor, where he saw Artie with his bottle at a water cooler. "Looks like you had the same idea as I did," he joked, catching the other boy's attention.

"I'm almost done here, so you can use it in a second."

"No hurry." As Artie filled his bottle with cold water, Lincoln finished the rest of his lukewarm water. By the time he was done, Artie was putting the lid back on his bottle, stepping aside to allow Lincoln to refill his. "Thanks." He stepped up to the cooler and began to use it, feeling the cold from the water through the plastic, when he thought of something. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Artie, who had been drinking, gulped down the water before replying, "go for it."

"How come you don't walk here with me, Jordan and the others? You do on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Well, I live on the other side of town from Jordan, and everyone else lives closer to her house than to the sports centre. That, and my mom drops me off so she can see her friends or something." Lincoln nodded in understanding. "Still, I'm just glad I'm able to come here, you know? Otherwise, I'd just be sat at home, watching TV all day."

"Gee, sounds like a nightmare. I couldn't imagine what that would be like."

Artie couldn't help but laugh at the sarcastic joke, before telling his friend, "I'll see you back in there."

Lincoln nodded as he walked away, looking to his bottle and turning off the cooler before his bottle got too full. Screwing the lid back on, he began to head back towards the gymnasium, just as Chris came out from it.

"Hey, Lincoln," he spoke. "Good work today."

"Thanks, Chris."

"So, I noticed that you had a better time concentrating today. I know it's not really my business, but I'm guessing that everything's okay at home now?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah, me and my sisters, we've all made up now. It's good to know that they're supporting me, and that they aren't mad at me about… well, you know."

"I get it, and I'm glad you don't have to worry about that anymore. You've just got to remember, Lincoln, that doing something you truly enjoy is something to be proud of. Right?" Lincoln nodded. "Good. Now, go on, I need to go handle something real quick, but we'll be resuming practice soon."

"Alright." So, Lincoln went back into the gymnasium. He was going to head over to Jordan and the others, but he stopped. Seeing the rest of the kids, both his friends and the younger girls, all talking and laughing with each other, he couldn't help but smile. In particular, his smile grew just that bit fonder when he saw Jordan talking with Mollie, as his memory from when he first tried gymnastics came back to him, and how she had supported him throughout his training. 'I really owe you one, Jordan.'


	79. Ch 79- Clearing The Air

Back at the Loud House, the sisters were all sat together in the living room, watching re-runs of an old sitcom about the family of an Italian American man living in Long Island. "I still don't get why Deena got together with Randy," Lola complained. "She can do way better than him."

"Aw, come on, Lola! Don't be so randy about it!" Luan joked, giving her typical laugh. "Get it?"

"Sadly," Lucy sighed as her sisters all groaned.

"Why are we even watching this?" Lynn asked.

"Because Dream Boat is on after this," Lori reminded.

"Yeah, but not on this channel. Why can't we watch something else?"

"Yeah, why can't we watch Reptilia instead?" Lana added, to which Luan smugly held up the TV remote, causing the grease monkey groan. "Dang it."

"Hey, it's not my fault you guys can't appreciate a classic sitcom!"

"Dude, they're all the same anyway. What makes this one so special?"

Luna's comment struck a nerve with the comedienne, who immediately gave her a stink eye. "This coming from the girl who listens to a thousand albums of loud yelling and guitar solos?"

This sparked a fire in the rocker's eye, the two roommates butting their heads together. "You wanna go, brah?"

"Call me a drummer, because I'm about to beat ya!"

Lori knew where this was likely to go, so she got up and forced the two apart, before sitting in between them. "We are literally not going to start fighting before Dream Boat, so both of you settle down now!" The two brunettes grumbled to themselves as they obliged, causing the oldest of the Loud girls to shake her head. "Would you rather we used the sibling fight protocol?"

"… no…"

Satisfied by their answers, Lori's eyes returned to the screen, though they were quickly diverted away again when she heard a car driving toward the house. She watched as Leni got to her feet and walked over to the window, smiling at what she saw. "Linky's back!"

Lisa rolled her eyes at the chipper comment from her second oldest sister. "This is hardly noteworthy, elder sibling. Our Male sibling makes his return from his session of physical activity at the same time every—"

"O M Gosh, they're hugging!"

This time, the girls were all intrigued by the comment of the fashionista, as they all got up and went over to the window. As the blonde had said, there was their brother and his friend, sharing an embrace together. The sweet sight caused all of the girls to coo, big smiles stretching across their faces. Even the stoic Lisa and Lucy couldn't help but be heart warmed by the sight.

"Literally too cute," Lori sighed.

"He should ask her out!" Lola insisted. "It's obvious they like each other!"

"I believe his heart may be conflicted," Lucy mused. "The temptation of something greater comes with the risk of painful heartbreak, and with it the loss of what is already there. The step from what is familiar to what is new is a difficult one to take."

"Dudette's got a point," Luna agreed. "Sometimes you've got to put yourself out there, but you wanna be sure they feel the same way you do. Otherwise, you'll end up mending a broken heart."

While the others all agreed or disagreed, Lana watched as the car drove away, with Lincoln waving goodbye to his friend. "He's coming in!" she called out, catching their attention. They all saw the boy begin to walk towards the house, so they rushed back to their previous seated positions and resumed watching the TV. When the door eventually opened, they looked with smiling faces to their brother.

"Hey, Lincoln!"

Though he was surprised to hear all the girls speak at once, he gave them a smile back as he shut the door. "Hey, girls," he greeted back.

"How was practice, bro?" Lynn asked.

"It was good, thanks."

"And how's Jordan?" Luna asked, the hint of excitement in her voice not going unnoticed.

"Uh, she's fine? Why do you ask?"

"What, we can't ask how your friends are?"

"Yeah, it's not like anyone else will tell us," Lola added, only adding to Lincoln's suspicion.

"Right… well, like I said, she's fine."

"We asked how she is, Linc, not what you think of her."

Lynn's teasing joke got all of the girls giggling, while Lincoln sighed as the penny finally dropped. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're just friends?"

"Well, that hug looked more than friendly," Lori pointed out, causing a slight blush on his face.

"Seriously? You were watching us?" Rather than make any attempt at hiding it, his sisters all nodded, causing him to sigh heavily. "Why am I not surprised."

"Your words have no signs of objection to our insinuation," Lisa pointed out, though he blinked at the way she worded it. "In other words, you're not denying it."

"That's because there's no point! No matter how much I try and set the record straight, you just keep saying that I like her or whichever girl it is we end up talking about. It's better if I just let you think what you want and ignore it."

Though she rolled her eyes, Lori knew that this was going nowhere. "Alright, we'll stop teasing you," she said to the boy, though there was a part of her directing it to the others too. "Anyway, if you're gonna shower, you better be quick. Dream Boat is on soon, and it's the season finale next week."

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot the season was almost over!" He began to run up the stairs, though not without calling down, "I'll be down soon!"

When they eventually heard a door shut upstairs, Lola turned to the oldest of the sisters. "Why'd you have to stop us?" she complained in a faux whiny voice. "We were just having a bit of fun!"

The others either nodded or gave a "yeah" in agreement with the jock, to which Lori gave a shake of her head. "Come on, you know we can't push it too far," she pointed out. "He's told us not to tease him too much, so let's not make him mad at us." The others grumbled their agreements with this, knowing that they didn't want that to be the case again. 'Besides,' Lori mentally added, 'we're gonna have to speak to him later. Better not to do it if we've upset him.'

* * *

Lincoln eventually returned to the couch in his pyjamas after taking a shower, taking a seat next to Lana and Lisa on the floor in front of the others. They watched Dream Boat, which led to the usual arguments between the girls about which of the boys that Kayla— the female 'contestant' of the season— should choose, as well as their complaints about how each of the boys acted. Lincoln, of course, knew that it was best if he didn't object to any of the girls' opinions, and chose to simply smile and watch. When the show reached its end, Kayla had chosen to send Buck home, much to the disappointment of Lana, who thought that the animal lover was the best suitor left on the show.

She didn't mull over the decision too much, as right after the credits rolled, the kids were called into the dining room for dinner. The typical Sunday meal of Salisbury steak had made its return, but now that it wasn't being served every week, it went down a lot better with the kids. The meal was relatively pleasant, with no arguments breaking out and with everyone sharing things about their day, such as Luna's band practice, Lincoln and Lynn's respective practice sessions and how Lana had managed to teach Charles to stop digging up flowers— a fact that the Loud mother was rather pleased to hear.

By the time the kids had all finished their food, Lynn Sr wiped his mouth with a napkin, which he then put down on his plate. "Well, I think that was a lovely dinner, fam," he told his family, with murmurs of agreement from the kids at the table.

"You're all free to leave the table," Rita added, "but remember that it's a school night. That means, make sure your homework is finished, and no staying up late."

"Hey, Leni," Lola asked, "can you go over my dress for my next pageant? I don't think it's quite good enough to beat Lindsey Sweetwater."

"Sure, Lola!" the chipper blonde agreed. "I'd be happy to!"

"That'll have to wait," Lori interrupted. "We need to have a sibling meeting." Naturally, this was met with looks of confusion and disappointed groans from her siblings, but she stood firm. "Now!"

So, the kids begrudgingly followed the high school senior up to her room. As he prepared to go up, Lincoln felt a hand on his shoulder, which he quickly acknowledged was his mother's. "What's up?"

"I never got the chance to tell you yesterday," she informed him with a warm smile, "but I'm very proud of you Lincoln. It can't have been easy making up with your sisters like that, but I'm glad that you and the girls handled it like you did."

The boy smiled back. "Thanks, Mom."

"Of course. Now, go on. Lori's waiting for you."

He nodded, then made his way upstairs. Heading into his oldest sisters' bedrooms, he saw the girls all sat on the two beds as they usually did, with Lori stood at her desk. When she saw the boy, she told him, "took you long enough."

He rolled his eyes at her before explaining, "Mom wanted to tell me something real quick."

"Alright, well, take a seat and we can start." Lincoln obliged sitting next to Lucy on Lori's bed. Lori took her shoe and banged it against the desk, promptly ending any discussions that the rest of the sisters were having. "Okay! This sibling meeting is now in session! Before I begin what I have to say, is there anything that the rest of you would like to bring up?"

"Dude, come on, just spit it out! We've only got time to kill, so let's not waste it!"

The others agreed with the rocker's sentiment, irking the eldest until she silenced them with her shoe once more. "That's enough. If none of you have anything to bring up, then fine. I called you in here for two reasons. The first was to remind you that next Saturday is the only chance we'll have to go to the mall and do our Christmas shopping, so make sure to make a list of everything you need to get before then, and make sure you know how much it's going to cost in case you need to ask Mom and Dad for a loan or anything like that."

"And what, pray tell, was the second matter of discussion?" Lisa asked, further irritating the one running the meeting.

"Geez, don't be so impatient! I was getting there!" She scoffed for herself, before turning her attention to her brother. "Lincoln. We all know the truth now, and we are all thankful that you forgave us for… well, not being too friendly in our original reaction."

Lincoln gave a small smile as he cut in, saying, "Lori, it's fine. You've all apologised, and I've apologised to you too. That's behind us now, so we don't need to keep coming back to this."

His smile led to the seventeen year old to give one of her own. "You're too kind, Lincoln, and you're right. That was in the past, and we should be moving forward now. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure that there weren't any questions that the others had about it, and to make sure that we don't have the wrong idea. Is that okay with you?"

Though he was surprised by the request, he didn't have any kind of issue with it. "Y-Yeah, sure. Is there anything you particularly want to ask?"

"Well, there is one thing. When we talked yesterday, you said that you were worried about how we were going to react. Was it always the stuff we did that made you think that?"

Lincoln sighed. "Well… I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't worried because of that. However, it wasn't the first thing that crossed my mind when I got back. You see, when Mrs Rosato was dropping me off after the taster session, she mentioned something. I don't remember exactly what it was she said, but it was something about men she knew who would have laughed at the idea of a boy doing gymnastics."

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Luan burst out. "Have you ever seen a gymnast at the Olympics! Those guys are—" She cut herself off when she saw how the others were looking at her, making her blush timidly. "Uh, I mean, they look… impressive! Yeah, it's real impressive, the things they can do!"

"That, and their bodies are toned," Lynn agreed, causing the looks to turn to her. "What? I had to research when I was helping Linc train. Got to know where to focus your efforts."

"She's got a point," Lincoln acknowledged. "And, yeah. Had Mrs Rosato not told me that, then… I don't know, maybe I wouldn't have considered keeping it a secret, but that doesn't matter. Everything that happened happened as it has, and while I'm not proud of what I did, I'm glad that we can all be on the same page now."

The girls all seemed to appreciate this, as there was a bit of hollering from Lynn while the rest of his sisters gave their brother a round of applause. "Well, we're all glad about that too," Lori eventually said, once the applause died down. "Now, that was the only thing I wanted to ask, but is there anything the rest of you want to ask him?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Lana announced, holding her hand up. "Me first!"

"Go ahead, Lana."

"What does Jordan think of your gymnastics?"

The girls all seemed excited about what the answer to this would be, though Lincoln had to roll his eyes, having had a slight feeling that his friend might be brought into the conversation at some point. "I can't speak for her, but she's told me I'm doing okay."

"Well, what do you think of _her _ability?" Lola then asked with a grin that made him sigh.

"I think she's great, okay? Now, does-" He caught sight of Lucy raising her hand. "Does your question have anything to do with Jordan?"

"… no…"

In spite of her monotone voice, Lincoln knew that she didn't mean it. "Go on, ask it."

"If she stopped doing gymnastics, do you think you would?"

He blinked with widening eyes. "Wow! I didn't see that coming! Honestly, I've never thought about that… well, if she did decide to stop, I don't think I would stop, but it wouldn't be as enjoyable. She's been helping me ever since I started, and we've become better friends because of it, but I don't think she would want me to stop because of her. I know if it was the other way around, and I stopped, I wouldn't want her to quit because I did." He heard a collective "aww" from his sisters in response, and while he knew that he wasn't doing himself any favours in the 'she's just a friend' department, he knew that what he said was the truth. "Does anyone have any questions that don't involve Jordan?"

"Actually, I've got one," Luan asserted. "I only got to see you practice on two apparatus on Tuesday, but I know there's more than that. Which is your favourite to use? Which one 'sepparatus' itself from the rest?"

Though Lincoln groaned at the pun, as did the others, he did smile at the question. "Well, I guess that would have to be the vault. The pommel horse and the rings are okay but I find them too technical, and the floor exercise is a little bit basic compared to the others. I do enjoy the bars, but there's something about the vault that's more… exhilarating. In a weird way, even though it only lasts for a second or so, it feels like I'm just floating in the air after I make that jump. That, and we get to use the foam pit to practice too, so that's fun."

The girls gave a small amount of chuckling at the last point. "Okay, are there any other questions?" Lori waited for anyone to speak or raise their hand, though neither came. "Well, if you think of anything else, I'm sure that Lincoln wouldn't mind answering. Otherwise, if there's nothing else that needs to be discussed, this sibling meeting is dismissed." She banged her shoe on the desk to make it official, and the others began to stand up and leave. She caught sight of Lynn and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on, Lynn," she requested, then looked to her roommate. "Leni!"

"Hmm? Oh, right! My room too, doi!"

Lori shook her head with a humoured smile. "Actually, could you give me and Lynn a few minutes alone?"

"Sure, no problem! I need to work on Lola's dress anyway, so just let me grab my needles."

The older blonde nodded, allowing the younger blonde to grab a sewing kit out of her bedside drawer before she left the room. When the door finally shut, Lynn turned to her sister. "What's up? I need to try and get on with my homework."

"It won't take long, so just sit down." Curious, she obliged, sitting down on the bed with Lori sitting next to her. "I wanted to tell you something, because there's something I've been thinking about since yesterday."

"Okay? Did I do something?"

Lori shook her head. "Lynn, you're not in trouble. What I wanted to tell you is… well, I'm proud of you."

Lynn tilted her head, her eyes squinting in confusion. "For what?"

"These last few weeks, you've really stepped up. You were the first of us Lincoln turned to when it came to gymnastics. You've been coaching him, sure, that's not surprising. However, you've also been supporting him this whole time. You helped him to figure out how to start telling the rest of us, and as a whole, you've looked out for him."

It was a rare sight to see, but the middle schooler looked almost bashful, rubbing the back of her head. "I wouldn't say I've done all that much."

Lori's smile grew, reaching around to pull Lynn close. "I bet Lincoln would. You've really stepped up your game, Lynn. One day, you're gonna be the oldest sister here, and you'll be the one that has to look after everyone when Mom and Dad can't… but now, I have more confidence than ever that you can do that when the time comes."

The brunette couldn't help the smile that graced her lips, and even if she wasn't considered to be the most affectionate of her siblings, she didn't hesitate to hug her big sister. "Thanks, Lori."

Lori smiled, returning the hug and replying, "no problem, Lynn."


	80. Ch 80- Beaten Heart

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day at Royal Woods Middle School, and the students couldn't be held for too long before they were filing out of the school in droves. Lynn was no exception to this, cramming her things into her bag and slamming her locker shut with vigour. "Two more days, and we're done with this place!" she cheered. "Woo!"

"Lynn, it's only winter break," Margo reminded her. "We'll still have to come back in January."

"Come on, Margo, don't be a buzzkill. Besides, it's Christmas in a week, so the sooner we can ditch this place, the better!" Her friend gave a chuckle, just as she was able to see Vanzilla pass by the entrance. "Ooh, that's me. Gotta bounce. See you tomorrow, Margo!"

Her friend waved as she sprinted through the crowd, not caring about anyone calling her out on bumping into them. She practically burst through the crowd when she got outside, running over to the van and quickly getting into one of the middle seats. "Floor it!"

"Lynn, I've told you, I'm not going to lose my license before I go to college," Lori reminded her, the brunette rolling her eyes as the van slowly picked up speed and left the driveway.

"Lame."

"What's got you running like a bat out of hell, dudette?" Luna asked.

"She's probably just, like, excited to get home for something," Leni suggested, to which Lori rolled her eyes.

"We know that much, Leni," she bluntly pointed out to the other blonde, then looked in her mirror at the middle schooler. "You've been like this since Monday. What, did your team get to the finals or something?"

"Nah, nothing like that," Lynn clarified, putting her arms behind her head. "Just been in a good mood this week, and Wednesday's always end with Dr Snoozen's class."

The four older girls all gave a shudder, now understanding the reason for their sister's good mood. "Yeah, his classes were always such a snooze fest," Luna agreed. "If it weren't for Lise, I would've flunked his class easy."

"That would have been breaking snooze!" Everyone else groaned while Luan laughed at her joke, as was the norm. "Oh, don't be such a snoozer!"

"You sure we can't just drop her off first?" Lynn asked the driver, who shook her head.

"I'm not making two trips, Lynn. Besides, won't you and Lincoln be talking about your workout when he gets in?"

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe you should drop me off instead."

"Come on, Lynn! I'm sure we can work something out!" Luan laughed at her joke again, while Lynn gave a growling groan. "Oh, well. Maybe Lincoln will appreciate my comedy more."

"Maybe we can use it as motivation when he's on the treadmill," Lynn countered. "Something to run away from."

"See?! That's the spirit!"

Lynn wanted to tell the comedienne to stop, but she didn't focus on it too hard when she saw that they had arrived at the elementary school. She saw the rest of their sisters stood come towards the van and get in, but she couldn't see her brother. "Hey, Spooky, where's Lincoln at?"

"I haven't seen him since lunchtime," the goth replied. "He's probably talking with his friends still."

As if on cue, Lynn looked back towards the school and saw the white haired boy exit with Clyde, the two boys talking about something. However, because of this, he didn't see Markus come around and push the boy backwards, falling over another kid and landing on his back. Some of the kids laughed at the boy as he was helped up by Clyde, but Lynn was having none of it, her mouth seething at the sight of the bully. "Not on my watch!" The jock got out of the van, her sisters goading her on as she stomped over to the sixth graders. "Hey, jerkwad!"

Markus looked to the girl and grinned. "Well, look who it is, Lincoln!" he taunted, both to the girl and her brother. "Your sister's come to save you again! So, Lynn, you gonna be at football practice next year?"

"Like heck I'm gonna play on your team again," she spat, staring him down with a fiery anger that only grew the more that he didn't back off. "Now, you leave my brother alone, or I'm gonna make sure that football's gonna be the last thing you do."

"What, I'm not allowed to play a little prank? We're just having some fun!"

Lynn didn't like this answer, so she cracked her knuckles in her palm. "I asked once, so now I'm telling you. Leave. My brother. Alone."

"Lynn," Lincoln cut in, walking over and rubbing his lower back. "It's okay. He's not worth it, let's just go."

Though she wanted to tear Markus a new one, she knew that her brother didn't want a fight to break out, and it wouldn't look great on her part if she beat up a kid two years younger than her. Begrudgingly, she sighed heavily. "Fine. Let's go."

They started to walk towards the van, but Lynn stopped when she heard Markus mock them, saying, "I told you, boys. There's ten sisters in that family, and Lincoln's one of them! Guess we know which one the boy is, huh?"

Lincoln instinctively looked to his sister, and he could see she had snapped— her fists were clenched, she had grit her teeth together, and her eyes were now incredibly wide, with the left one twitching in pure rage. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her to hold her back as she thrashed out to try and grab her antagoniser and beat the living daylights out of him. His training with said sister had made him stronger, but he was struggling to hold her back.

"SAY IT AGAIN!" she roared out, gaining the attention of everyone nearby. "I DARE YOU! SAY IT, AND WE'LL SEE WHO THE BOY IS WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Markus simply guffawed with his friends, turning around and walking away. "GET BACK HERE!"

"Lynn!" Lincoln shouted. "He's gone, it's over! Calm down!"

"No way, Linc! That jerk is dead when I get my hands on him!"

"It's okay! Just let him go!"

She forced his hands off of her and turned to face him. "Why are you letting him get away with pushing you around like that?"

"Because it's not worth getting into trouble over, and I'm not gonna let you get in trouble just because of my problem!" Although Lynn really wanted to go after Markus and make him pay for hurting her brother, she knew that Lincoln was too smart and too loyal to let her, so she huffed as she tried to find any excuse that would let her avenge him. Lincoln put a stop to this when he put his hand on her shoulder, and assured her, "it's okay. Let's just go home, work out for a while and put this behind us. Please."

Seeing the way his frow burrowed as he applied the puppy eyes to her, she knew it was a losing battle. "No fair, Lincoln! That's- that's our… oh, fine. I'll let him go." Lincoln smiled at her, making her pout at the thought that she had given in. "B-but he attacks you even one more time—"

"I know, and I probably won't be able to stop you."

She grinned at him. "Probably? Linc, you've come a long way, but you're not stronger than me yet!"

"Oh, yeah? Then how did I manage to hold you back just now?" This got the brunette to laugh, with Lincoln laughing alongside her. "Come on. Let's go home."

* * *

The situation over, they got in the van, where the other girls were quick to ask Lincoln if he was okay and offer to hunt the jerk down and kick his ass. As always, the boy insisted to the girls that they didn't get involved and simply let the matter drop, which they reluctantly agreed to do. With no other reason to stick around outside the school, they drove home, all eager to enjoy the rest of the day ahead. The ride was relatively short, filled with talk about their respective activities of the day, but overall pleasant.

The second that the van pulled to a stop in the driveway, the girls practically sprinted towards the house, all except for the grease monkey who went to play with the family dog. Lynn was the last of the girls— save for Lori, who needed to lock Vanzilla— to reach the front door, but before she went inside, she looked back and saw that Lincoln was rubbing his back again as he got out of the van. "You okay there, Linc?"

"Yeah," he assured her. "Just a little sore."

"You gonna be alright to work out, or do you need to rest instead? You don't want to do yourself more harm than good, you know?"

"I'll be okay, Lynn. I'm just gonna need a minute or two, so you head downstairs and I'll join you."

Though she wasn't fully convinced, she nodded. "Alright. I'll get warmed up while I'm waiting for you."

So, they both entered the house and went their separate ways— Lincoln upstairs to his room, and Lynn through the dining room and the kitchen to get into the basement. She descended the stone stairs, the familiar sight of her workout equipment being a welcome sight to her. She tried to decide what to warm up with, her eyes darting between the skipping rope and the treadmill, but one glance over to the punching bag hanging near the boiler put both ideas to rest. Though it wasn't what she typically used to warm up for a strenuous workout, she felt her body begin to go toward it. Her mind was making her imagine that the punching bag was changing shape, the traditional cylindrical shape developing arms, legs and a head. The 'head', in particular, was what stood out to her, as the face that appeared on it had a smug, instantly irritating grin, snarky eyes, and brown crew cut hair. What she was seeing was Markus, but her anger at the sight her mind had tricked her into seeing only got worse when 'he' began to speak.

"_Guess we know who the boy is, huh?"_ she heard 'him' say, causing her eye to twitch again. 'He' started laughing at her, a low growl growing louder as the girl squeezed her eyes shut and balled up her fists. The laughter grew louder in her head, no matter how much she shook her head or tried to tell her that it wasn't real, and just when it got too loud to handle, she snapped.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed before unleashing the first of hundreds of punches directly at 'his' face. The first impact was resounding, but not enough to snap her out of her angered state. Punch after punch was thrown at the red leather bag, furious shouts and yells being thrown out as well. Her face was almost stuck in its angry expression, the laughter still echoing in the back of her mind. She was doing anything to silence this, but the only way she could think to do that was to punch and punch away. She punched for a solid minute, her pace refusing to slow down. If it were up to her, she could have beaten away at the hanging bag for an hour, but someone else had other plans.

She had thrown over a hundred punches, but a right hook was stopped in midair when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Her eyes lost their rage and instead went wide from shock. She looked down at the arms wrapped around her abs, noticing the hands shaking slightly and turning her head just enough to see the end of an orange sleeve.

"It's okay, Lynn," she heard her brother whisper, worriedly yet soothingly. "It's okay." She looked back to the punching bag, her mind no longer convincing her that it was anything other than a punching bag. This was the moment that she had realised what she had been doing, and her face blanched slightly, her legs losing strength. Lincoln felt his sister's weight begin to drop, so he gently did his best to lower her into a sitting position on the floor. "Take it easy, Lynn, you're okay."

"What happened?!" they heard Lori call out, Lincoln turning to see that she had made her way down the basement stairs, most likely concerned by the yelling of their sister.

"Could you get her some water, Lori?" he asked. "She's a bit pale."

"Uh… y-yeah, sure. But, what—"

"Lori!"

"Right, on it!"

So, she went back up towards the kitchen, leaving the boy and girl alone. When the door opened, they could both hear the worried conversations of their parents and some of their sisters. Lincoln didn't pay it any mind, as he sat next to his sister and rubbed her back while she stared down at her feet. "It's okay," he assured her comfortingly, but she shook her head.

"No, it's not."

He was surprised by this— not just the words themselves, but the sullen, quiet tone she gave. It was so unheard of from the brunette, to have such a defeatist attitude, and although she was no stranger to self critique, that was typically to push her to do better at sport. Not… whatever this was. However, the boy was given no time to ask his sister about it before Lori returned, bottle of water in hand.

"Here you go, Lynn," she told her younger sister, kneeling down and handing her the bottle, which she somewhat slowly accepted. She unscrewed the top and began to sip at the water, some of the colour returning to her face. "You okay now?" Lynn merely shrugged, so Lori looked to the boy. "What happened?"

"I think I know," he said, though the hint of uncertainty in his voice was noticeable. "Could you possibly give us a minute?"

"Are you sure?" Seeing him nod, she sighed, knowing that her brother had a plan. "Alright. I'll keep the others out while you talk, just shout up if you need me."

He nodded in gratitude, before the blonde left the basement, leaving them alone once more. "So, I think I know the answer to this, but... do you want to talk about it?" Again, Lynn shook her head. "Well… do you mind if I talk?"

"Knock yourself out," she said in a resigned tone.

"Was it… to do with Markus?"

Just the mention of his name caused her hand muscles to clench, spilling some of the water from the bottle that she resealed with the lid. "That obvious, huh?"

He heard her tone change, becoming a mix of anger and hurt. "I… heard you saying his name."

"I did? Honestly, I didn't even realise."

The boy frowned at hearing this. "Lynn… you know that—"

"That could have been him." She finally looked to her brother, with her seeing his confused expression and him looking back at her disgusted one. "That would have been that jerk if you hadn't stopped me. I wouldn't have known when to stop, and all it would achieve is me getting me, you or both of us in trouble… and you would be mad at me for it."

"Lynn, I wouldn't be mad at you for standing up for me."

She shrugged his hand off her back and argued, "yeah, you would. And you would have every right you be." She began to stand up, holding her hand out to stop Lincoln when he tried to help her. "You said so yourself, bro, it's not worth getting into trouble for, but I'm not as strong as you."

If Lincoln had found it hard to believe that it was Lynn talking before, this really threw him off. "What are you talking about? Lynn, you're the strongest person I know!"

She scoffed. "I'm not talking physical strength, Stinkoln. I might be able to beat a guy in a fight, but I don't have control like you do. You know when to hold back and walk away, but I can't do that." Her eyes drifted towards the window with disappointment. 'Guess Lori was wrong about me,' she added in her head, the conversation with Lori three days prior almost taunting her for her mistakes, but she refused to tell her brother this and start that conversation. "So, yeah. You're stronger than me."

She didn't dare to look at her brother, afraid to know what he was going to say or do next. She hadn't expected to be having that conversation with the white haired child to begin with, but she knew there was no stopping until it all came out, and the thought that she couldn't even stop that just hammered the point she was making home for her. When her brother eventually did speak, it was preceded by a few soft chuckles, making her believe she wasn't being taken seriously. She was going to call him out on it, but his words cut her off.

"Lynn, who do you think I learnt control from to begin with?" he pointed out. "Lori's controlling, sure, but she doesn't show enough restraint most of the time. Leni goes crazy in sales, Luna rocks way too hard a lot of the time, and do I even need to bring up April Fool's Day?"

"Well, yeah, but they all have more control than me."

"I'd argue that you do."

"What are you talking about?" Rather than simply tell her, he walked over to the weight bench and laid down on it, grabbing the bar. "Linc, you haven't even stretched yet."

"Don't worry, the weight is light." He lifted the bar off the rest, lowering it to his chest and pressing it up before explaining between reps. "You taught me… to not rush… and to always… control my reps… to maintain… the same speed… when lowering… and raising… the bar." He completed a couple more reps before returning the bar to the rest and sitting up. "And it's not just when we're working out that you taught me this stuff. Whenever you play soccer, you control your power when you shoot. Whenever we wrestle, you control your attacks so as not to injure me."

"You say that as if I've never hurt you," she argued. "You say that… like I never threatened you." He knew what she was hesitantly referring to, and though he tried to hold back the memories, that fear he felt returned, making him tense up and shake slightly with tightly shut eyes. "See what I mean?! I did this to you! I'm not strong enough to stop myself from—"

"S-Stop! Pl-Please!" She gave a silent gasp as she looked to her brother, her heart breaking at seeing him try and prevent a panic attack, his hands gripping at his arms tightly. "Please s-s-stop." She immediately rushed forward to hug him, feeling his arms hesitantly wrap around her and his shaking faintly settle over time. "That's n-not who you are, Lynn. You a-are s-so much more than that. I don't know how long… th-this will last, b-but I'm not pushing you away again. Just please, st-stop saying that ab-b-bout yourself."

Though Lynn was doing her best to comfort her brother, she knew that her brother was still trying to help her. "I'll try, just... I'm here, Lincoln." She continued to hold and comfort him as he eventually settled down, his shaking stopping and his muscles relaxing. "I'm sorry, bro. It's my fault you're like this."

"No, it's not, Lynn. It was my stupid idea that made me like this... but, that's not what matters right now." He removed his arms from around her, Lynn taking the initiative to let go as well and look at her brother. "Lynn, you are stronger than you know. You don't give yourself enough credit for just how strong you are, and you are someone who gives yourself _a _lot of credit."

Even in spite of the sullen events that had transcended just then, she couldn't resist laughing at the joke, her smile bringing a smile to Lincoln's face. "Shut up, you dork," she laughingly told him, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Thanks, Linc."

"I mean it, Lynn. It's true." They stayed silent for a few seconds, with Lincoln rubbing his teary eyes, neither of them quite sure what to say from there. "So, uh… do you still want to work out?"

"Um… yeah. I'm already warmed up, so you spend about… five minutes on the treadmill. I'll join you in a moment, I'm just gonna… make sure the others know I'm okay."

"Okay." He watched as she walked up the stairs, the girl looking back with a smile for a second near the top before heading into the kitchen. When she was gone, and he began to walk to the treadmill, he could only think one thing: no matter what may happen between them, they were fortunate to have each other in their lives.


	81. Ch 81- Winter's Break Eve

The end of the school semester was drawing ever near, and the students at Royal Woods Elementary were doing their best to keep focused. They all knew that that Friday was the last day of the semester, which was reason enough for them to not want to be there, on top of a general dislike for school. This feeling was only made worse, however, when they had woken up that morning to see snow falling outside their windows, yet not enough to bring about a snow day. Still, they knew it was only one more day before the winter holidays officially began, and they were doing their best not to let this get them down. In Lincoln's class, he and many of his classmates made occasional glances outside of the windows, feeling envious at the second grade class enjoying their recess in the snow covered yard.

"Our recess ended way too quickly," he told himself, keeping his voice hushed so as not to alert his teacher.

"I hope they give us an extended lunch break," Rusty whispered to Lincoln.

"I wouldn't count on it," Clyde pointed out. "Principal Huggins would probably reduce lunchtime, if anything."

"You're such a buzzkill, man," Zach moaned, to which the dark haired boy chuckled.

"Hey, it's not my decision."

The boys' conversation was halted when they heard the classroom door open, their eyes returning to the front to see Coach Pacowski had entered. "Sorry for the interruption, Mrs Johnson," he told the teacher.

"Not at all, Coach," Mrs Johnson replied. "I was just wrapping up this lesson, anyway."

"Might I make a quick announcement?" She gestured for him to do so, and he turned to face the class. "As I'm sure you're all aware, you have gym class next. While I'm sure you'd all rather spend that in the snow, the school board expects me to conduct your class as normal, which would mean indoors." The sixth graders all whined and complained, irking the gym teacher into blowing his whistle. "That's enough! As I was saying, that's what the school board expects. With that in mind, make sure you bring your winter clothes, because the board ain't here! Let's have gym class outside!"

The class rejoiced at this decision, just as the bell rang to signal that it was time for the next lesson. Once Mrs Johnson has dismissed everyone, they eagerly followed Coach Pacowski out of the room and went over to their lockers, pulling out their winter clothes. "This must be our lucky day!" Stella told her friends, pulling out her white winter coat with fur lined hood. "What do you think we're gonna be doing?"

"Maybe we'll have a huge snowball fight!" Liam suggested, putting on his dark green farmer's coat. "We might actually have a shot at winning that!"

"I doubt it," Rusty argued, putting on his brown hoodie and zipping it up. "If Jordan's terrifying with a dodgeball, she must be lethal with a snowball."

"I say we play dead and make snow angels," Zach suggested as he slipped his head through a black jumper. "Maybe she'll show mercy."

"Guys, you're overreacting," Lincoln assured them, getting into his winter clothes. "It's just gonna be a snowball fight or something, and I'm sure she'll go easy for this. She isn't the snowball queen, after all. Right, Clyde?" He heard a muffled response, so he turned to see that his best friend was wearing a slightly oversized dark blue puff jacket, zipped up so it covered his mouth and with the hood up. "Uh, you okay there, buddy?" Again, Clyde's response was muffled, but he gave a nod. "Okay… anyway, let's just go and have fun, alright?"

The group all agreed, putting on their gloves, hats and/or scarves before going towards the gymnasium, where they saw Coach Pacowski waiting by the exit door in a yellow winter jacket on top of his usual attire. When any of the students arrived, he directed them through the door to the field outside, which felt like walking into a literal winter wonderland. The snow was gently cascading by this point, with a good few inches worth of snow having settled on the ground. The air was cold, but not unbearable, and it certainly beat doing dodgeball again.

When everyone was there, Coach came out, dragging with him a cart covered in assorted items such as cones, barricades and shovels. He let the cart rest before he blew his whistle, making the class instinctively form a line. "Right! Now, since we've had a good amount of snow overnight, and you're one of the last classes I have this semester, we're gonna do a series of games to pass the time, then cap it all off with a good old fashioned snowball fight. Since we don't know if the weather will get worse or not, we'll skip the warmup and get started with a snowball run." He took one cone and put it down by his foot, then began making a line with other cones. "You're gonna run from the start back there to the finish line, and you're gonna have to dodge as your classmates throw snowballs at you. Everyone gets one throw, and you'll get a second added to your time for each snowball that hits you." He finished one line, about a hundred metres long, then made another line parallel to it, both lines a few metres apart. "Right! Who wants to go first?" No one particularly wanted to go first, so one of the students ended up pushing Rusty forward, much to his surprise. "Spokes! Good man!"

The ginger boy grumbled, walking over to the start line while his classmates all prepared their first snowballs behind the far line. Once Coach Pacowski pulled out a stopwatch, he counted Rusty down and blew into his whistle, sending the lanky boy running with a yell. He got hit a few times pretty quickly, though none were enough to deter him until he got one on the side of the chin. This caused him to stumble and stop yelling, getting pelted by everyone else who still had ammunition in their gloved hands. He got back to his feet and ran the rest of the run, so Coach stopped his stopwatch.

"That was appalling, Spokes! Eighteen hits out of twenty three, your total time is forty five seconds!" He could tell the boy wasn't pleased with that time, but didn't focus on it for longer than a second before looking to the girl closest to him. "Next!" So, for about fifteen minutes, the kids ran the snowball run with varying degrees. Some were hit a lot but able to power through, some focused more on avoiding being hit, and poor Clyde had to drop to his knees and find his glasses after they got knocked off his head, bringing his run to an abrupt end. Zach and Stella ended up helping him off the 'track', to which the boy showed his gratitude. "Good effort, McBride," the gym teacher unconvincingly complimented, before looking at who was next in line. "Loud! You're up!"

Lincoln gave a small gulp at the thought of meeting the same fate as his bestie, but didn't take too long in heading to the start line. As he got counted down, he looked ahead, and an idea came to his mind. 'I've got it!' he thought to himself, a confident smile coming to his face. 'It's go time.' The whistle blew, but rather than run, he kicked at the snow just in front of him, then used the sudden distraction as a cover to start running. He was able to dodge a good few of the initial response, only catching one to the thigh of the first seven or so throws, then slowed down enough to sidestep, duck and dash past any incoming projectiles. Even though he took a few good hits all over his body, he didn't get slowed down any further and crossed the finish line in good time.

"Eighteen seconds and five hits! Nicely done, Loud!" The boy gave a small cheer at the result, before moving to the back of the line. "Rosato, you're next!" Jordan nodded, walking over to the start in her yellow parka, dark grey winter pants, dark blue ear muffs and black boots. She got into a starting position, and when Coach blew his whistle, she took off in a sprint. Many of her classmates were unable to throw their snowballs even remotely close to hitting her, and she only really had to move her head to dodge at least half of those that came close. She didn't get away unmarked, taking two to the midsection and one to the shoulder, but her pace didn't slow, and she crossed the line in impressive time. "Sixteen point five seconds and three hits! That's a new record set by Rosato!"

The girl smiled proudly as she walked over to the Loud boy, who sighed. "Well, there goes my thunder," he commented, making her giggle. "Still, good job, Jordan."

"Thanks, Lincoln. You did good too."

"Thanks." They talked for a few more seconds, before Coach asked them to pick up the cones and put them back on the cart. When they did that, they all saw that Coach was now moving the barricades around, placing them in the snow. "What is he doing?"

"I have no idea."

Fortunately for the two kids, and for the rest of their class, they didn't have to wait too long to find out. "Okay! Next game is a classic: Capture The Flag! As you can see, I've marked out a battlefield for you to use. If you get hit by a snowball, you have to drop out of the game and wait by me for one minute. You're gonna be in teams of four, and you score if you manage to get the flag from the centre to their base. If you get hit holding the flag, you drop the flag where you stand." He walked down to the far end of the line, where Jordan and Lincoln were stood. "First team is Lincoln, Jordan, Zach, Stella, Clyde and Kat. Head over to the North base." The kids looked to each other, then back to Coach with confusion, who deadpanned. "The one over there!"

They looked in the direction that he pointed and shrugged, ignoring the gym teacher's mutterings as they walked over to their base. "So, Lincoln, what's the plan?" Clyde asked, having unzipped his coat just enough to be heard.

"Woah, wait a minute!" Kat interrupted. "Who says he's in charge?"

"Well, Lincoln's just great at coming up with plans," Zach argued on his friend's behalf. "He's the Man with the Plan, after all."

Kat crossed her arms, unimpressed with the redhead's answer. "How'd that work out for you? Huh, science man?"

Zach grumbled, an embarrassed blush on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's not like your bangs never grew back."

"Yeah, after a month! I had to get a wig just so I wouldn't be too embarrassed to come into school!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Jordan spoke up, stepping between the two arguing classmates. "Kat, I know you're still not happy about that incident, but come on. He was just trying to impress you, and it was ages ago. Can you at least get along for this class?" Though she didn't particularly want to, Kat sighed as she gave a nod, with Zach giving one too. "Thank you. Now, who votes that Lincoln comes up with the plan?" She raised her hand, as did Zach, Stella and Clyde, but not Lincoln. "Don't you have a plan?"

"I mean, I do," he admitted, "but I'm okay with listening to someone else if they have anything to suggest."

"Well, the majority vote in favour of you, Lincoln," Stella pointed out. "Let's hear what you've got!"

"Alright, alright, just give me a second." He looked over the 'battlefield', seeing where the rest of the class had been put. "So, since there's three other teams, if we split into three pairs, we could focus on each team. However, one team is directly opposite us, so we won't be able to hit them as easily, so we should split in three and focus on the two teams either side of us."

"… okay, that's better than what I could've come up with," Kat commented, bringing chuckles out of the rest of the team. "So, Lincoln, who's going with who?"

"Well, I think Zach and Clyde are the best support players, so they should go on opposite teams. Jordan seems to be the best runner here, and Stella does track, so if they're our runners, me and Kat could be their backups."

"Quick thinking, Man with the Plan," Jordan jokingly told her friend. "So, me, Kat and Clyde go left, and you three go right?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Stella confirmed, holding her hand out facing down. "Let's do this!"

Everyone followed the tan girl's lead, placing their hands in the middle and raising them up with a cheer. They turned and faced the battlefield, where they saw a red flag sticking out of a central snow pile. Standing away from the battlefield, Coach Pacowski held his whistle out ready. "Ready? Three! Two! One!"

He blew into the whistle, and chaos ensued. Snowballs were flying left, right and centre, with everyone using the barricades for cover when they could, sprinting between them under heavy fire. Lincoln saw Rusty aiming for him, but was fortunate enough for the freckled boy to get taken out from another angle, so he continued closer to the next barricade, where Stella and Zach were taking cover. He poked his head out, ducking down again when Liam took a shot.

"Liam and Andrew have their eyes this way," he informed his teammates. "Zach, if we provide a distraction, Stella can run ahead and go for the flag."

"Got it," he agreed. Lincoln counted them down with his fingers, before they stood up and threw snowballs at the two ginger boys, the farm boy managing to dodge successfully while Andrew got taken out with Zach's projectile. "Oh, yeah!"

His exuberant celebration was cut short by a snowball to the back of the head, prompting Lincoln to turn around and roll to the side when Mollie tried to take him out. He looked up and saw that their sights had been directed elsewhere, so he threw a snowball at her, hitting the shoulder and eliminating her for the time being. However, when he looked forward again, he saw Stella drop the flag after only getting a few feet from the centre. He looked over to Jordan, who was taking cover while Clyde and Kat held off the team on the right, and nodded towards the flag. A few gestures and mouthed words later, she nodded back to him, and she vaulted over the barricade, crouch walking towards the flag while Lincoln threw snowballs in the direction of whoever tried to take her out. When she eventually grabbed the flag, she stood up and sprinted back towards their base, vaulting the barricade Lincoln was behind at the same time as he vaulted it, and though he took a snowball to the face for his efforts, it held off the frozen ammo long enough for Jordan to return to base, the win signified by the whistle blowing.

"That's a point to Team Rosato!" he declared, the girl in question cheering as she waved the flag in the air. "Let's reset the field and start again!"

* * *

For the rest of gym class, they played a few more rounds of Capture the Flag, with Lincoln's team getting a few more wins and having the most wins overall, before an all out snowball brawl broke out. The kids started off by teaming up on Coach Pacowski, but any and all allegiances went out the window when they began throwing snowballs at anyone that even dared move. Jordan proved to be a force to be reckoned with, just like she did in dodgeball, but the free for all element of the game made it fun for everyone, without fear of her becoming the snowball queen as well as the dodgeball queen.

After gym class was over, everyone eagerly went back inside and put their coats and other winter items back in their lockers, before heading into the dining room. All of the tables had tinsel dressed around the edges, a decision Clyde informed his friends was made by Sheryl to make the final day of the semester more festive. The festive feel was boosted by the fact that, instead of the usual school meals, the kids got a mini Christmas dinner for lunch— slices of turkey (or an alternative for the non-meat eaters) with a couple of pigs in blankets, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and gravy. Combined with the added gift of a cracker per student and the general atmosphere of merriment, it really felt like Christmas come early.

Everyone returned to their classrooms when lunch was over, and after a festive themed maths lesson, Lincoln's class went through English class, the excitement for school being over growing within them as the minutes passed them by. After fifty minutes of the hourlong lesson, Mrs Johnson put down her book and declared to the class, "okay, everyone! That's all I have to teach you for today! Now, I'm not allowed to dismiss you early, but because it's the final day, you can relax and do what you like for the rest of the lesson. Just make sure you stay in the room unless you need the bathroom, and keep the noise to a reasonable level while I do some online Christmas shopping."

No one questioned the teacher on that last bit of information, as they were all talking amongst each other before she had finished talking. With Lincoln and his friends, they were all pushing their tables together, moving their chairs so they could sit around the bigger makeshift table. "So, none of you guys forgot, right?" Clyde asked, to which his friends all voiced affirmations that they hadn't forgotten. "Alright! Let the Secret Santa begin!"

They all reached into their bags and pulled out a present each, with varying degrees of neatness to the ways in which they were wrapped. "So, how are we doing this?" Stella asked. "Are we opening them now or on Christmas Day, and who gets to go first?"

"It'll be more fun to open them now," Lincoln suggested. "That way, we get to see how we each react to our gifts!"

"That's a good point, Lincoln." The other boys all agreed, though some were likely just eager to open a gift early. "Since you brought that up, why don't you go first?"

"I can do that, sure. I got Liam, so here you go, buddy."

"Aw, thanks, bud!" he thanked as he received his gift. He quickly tore into the paper, revealing that he had received a woollen hat in the shape of a chicken. "Now that's a neat little hat! Where'd you pick that up?"

"I actually saw it while I was in the city, and I thought you'd like it."

"I do! Gimme a second here." He took the hat and put it on his head, two 'wings' covering his ears. "Ooh! That's toasty! Thank you, Lincoln!" The Loud boy smiled at seeing his present went appreciated, before Liam took his turn. "This gift right here is for Rusty."

"I wonder it could be?" he pondered as he accepted the box, removing the red paper and lifting off the lid before pulling out the contents, a bottle of cologne. "Dude, how did you know this was my brand?"

"Because you always suggest it to us whenever there's a dance."

Rusty ignored the sniggers from Zach and Lincoln and said, "I've been needing some more of this stuff!" He began to spray it on himself, making his friends cough at the over application. "Thanks, Liam. The Rustman's gonna pull this Christmas." Once again, he ignored the reactions his friends gave as he pushed his crudely wrapped gift over to Clyde. "Here you go."

"Uh… thanks, Rusty," he timidly accepted, worried by his friend's attitude as he undid the brown paper. When he saw what was inside, though, his eyes lit up. "No way! This is a limited edition set of Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack coasters! How did you get these on the budget we set?"

"I managed to find it cheap online. So, you like it?"

"It's great, Rusty! Thanks!" Putting his gift to one side, he picked up the purple box with a silver bow and gave it to the girl opposite him. "This one's for Stella."

"Wow, you wrapped that perfectly! It's looks too pretty to open! Well, almost." The others chuckled while she removed the ribbon and opened the paper. Pulling the box out of the paper, she removed the lid and gasped. "Where did you find this?!" Her friends' initial confusion at the reaction was cleared when she pulled out a miniature wooden toy horse and cart, which she set on the table to admire the paintwork. "My granny has some like this!"

"I found it at a flea market. When I asked the stall owner about it, she said she bought it in the Philippines, and that it's vintage."

"It's awesome, Clyde! Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

She carefully put the gift back in the box, then put her green paper package in front of Zach. "You're next, Zach. Hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," he told her as he ripped open the paper, pulling out a glasses case, which he then opened to reveal a pair of glasses. "Oh, these are cool."

"Try them on!"

Curious, Zach did just that, but was then blown away when it looked as though his friends had turned into aliens. "No way! I love that movie!"

"I'm glad you like it."

"I really do, thanks." He took the glasses off and put them back in the case, then held up the last unopened present, wrapped in red paper. "Well, no prizes for guessing who this is for."

Lincoln rolled his eyes as the gift was passed to him. "Thanks, Zach," he told his friend, before opening his present to find that he had been given a statuette of the main character of Total Trash Takedown. "Woah! That's cool."

"Yep. A cousin of mine told me he saw it at the game store, managed to grab it before anyone else could."

"That is going right next to my laptop. This is great, thanks, Zach."

"Still, I think we all know who gave the best present," Rusty suggested boastfully, making Stella roll her eyes.

"Rusty, it's not about who gives the best gift, it's about simply giving anything at all. Let's not make this a competition."

"You're right, Stella," Clyde told the girl. "This was a great idea, by the way. I think we're all glad you suggested it."

The boys all agreed, making her smile grow. "Hey, I'm glad you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Hopefully we can do this again next year."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Lincoln responded with a smile.

"Well, you would know."

The girl's joke got them all laughing, and it was at that moment that they heard the bell ring, and the school was filled with cheers. After Mrs Johnson let them leave, they all filed out into the corridor in a hurry. They all cleared out their lockers, made their ways to the exit and rejoiced. The winter break had finally begun.


	82. Ch 82- Deck The Mall

Saturdays at the Royal Woods Mall were typically busy, but given that it was the final weekend before Christmas, the foot traffic was turned up to max. The parking lot was packed tightly with assorted vehicles, but even if every car out there had brought four people, that still wouldn't add up to just how many people were inside, browsing the different shops for Christmas gifts for relatives, friends, associates and whoever else they hadn't already found a suitable present for. That was why, when the Loud siblings arrived early that morning, dressed in their winter coats and hats, they stayed close together after eventually finding a spot to park and walking from Vanzilla to the front entrance. The older siblings held the hands of the younger ones to make sure no one got separated or hurt, and they stopped by the fountain near the front of the mall.

"Okay!" Lori declared, though her voice ended up being drowned out slightly by the noises of the other shoppers. "We all know the plan, right?"

"What?!" many of her siblings yelled.

"I said, we—" When she realised that she still wasn't being heard, she stomped her foot and screamed. "QUIET!" The sudden disturbance from the blonde momentarily silenced many of the shoppers within a good ten metre radius, before they continued on their way at a lower overall volume. "As I was saying, we all know the plan, right?"

Everyone nodded, their minds recalling the meeting from the night before.

* * *

"_This sibling meeting is now in session!" Lori declared. "Before we get onto our main point of discussion, let's go over the weekly damage report. Lisa, over to you."_

"_Of course," the young genius declared, pulling out a clipboard. "Other than a minor power outage caused by the third eldest sibling's quote unquote 'jam session', the damage caused this week was minimal. One chipped plate, a pair of test tubes on my part, one of Charles' chew toys."_

"_Wasn't me!" Lana insisted, prompting scoffs from some of her sisters and an eye roll from Lisa._

"_In addition, our maternal unit has yet to find that her Gerbera Jamesonii, or 'Gerbera daisies', were trampled during the fifth eldest sibling's workout on Thursday."_

"_Hey, Mr Grouse had spares and I helped him plant his!" Lynn defended. "She doesn't need to know." She instinctively looked to Lola, who quickly hid something behind her back. "Don't even think about it. I've got something on you too, now."_

"_Puh-lease! You're bluffing."_

"_Wanna risk it?" _

"_Okay, that's enough!" Lori interrupted, hoping to return order to the meeting. "No one is going to bring any of this up with Mom and Dad, got it?" She waited for the collective agreement of her siblings before continuing to the next point. "Okay. Now, we all know that tomorrow is our last chance to go to the mall and do our Christmas shopping. Because it'll be Saturday, it's going to be literally the most hectic it ever is there. Mom and Dad are going to watch Lily, but the rest of us need to be prepared. First off, does everyone know what they're looking to buy, or at least know what sort of things they're looking for?" Again, everyone gave a collective affirmative response to the eldest sister. "Well, just in case, bring a list and come up with some alternatives in case stock runs out."_

"_Lori, we do this every year," Lynn pointed out, a bored look in her eyes. "What makes this one any different?"_

"_Other than it's the last one I'll have with you guys before I go to college?" This not only silenced the jock, but brought some sullen looks to the faces of some of her siblings. "Look, I just want this year to be special, and I want to make sure you guys all get what you need this year, since I don't know if I'll be there to help next year, or if I'll be with Bobby and his family. Okay?" Everyone nodded, putting that brief low moment behind them. "Now, because it's going to be so busy, we're going to pair up, with one of the older siblings watching one of the younger siblings. Does anyone have any questions so far?"_

_Lincoln didn't have anything to say, but he saw that Lori didn't notice his gothic sister raising her hand, so he spoke up when she tried to resume the meeting. "Uh, Lori? I think Lucy has a question."_

_She looked at the raven haired girl, seeing that her brother was in fact right. "My bad, Lucy. Go ahead."_

"_Thank you, Lincoln," she told her brother, then looked back to Lori. "How are we supposed to buy something for the sister we're paired with if they're going to be with us?"_

"_Hmm… that's literally a good point."_

"_Well," Lincoln spoke up again, "if it's going to take us a while to do our shopping, especially with how busy it is, why don't we swap after lunch?"_

_The others all murmured approvingly of his suggestion, the murmurs fading after the familiar banging of a shoe was heard. "I like that idea, so let's put it to a vote. All in favour of Lincoln's idea?" Ten hands immediately shot up. "The motion is carried."_

* * *

From there, the meeting was mostly about who would be paired up with who, which was what led to how the Louds were all stood together— Lori with Lana, Leni with Lola, Luna with Lincoln, Luan with Lisa and Lynn with Lucy. Each of them had a somewhat large gift bag that was in their favourite colour, which they would use to carry the gifts they bought, and would put into Vanzilla later so that no one could sneak a peek at what their siblings had bought for them.

"If you need help with anything, send a message in the group chat and whoever is nearest will help if they can. Meet back here in two hours, and we'll put what we've got by then into Vanzilla, then we'll go to lunch and swap. Make sure to buy whatever you're getting for whoever you're going to be paired up with next, and don't buy anything for yourself in case someone's getting it for you, okay? Oh, and stay safe."

"Got it!"

With that, the Louds went their separate ways, the younger sisters holding onto the hands of their older sisters to make sure they didn't get lost. Luna did the same with Lincoln, except instead of holding his hand, she put her arm around his shoulders, keeping him close to her as they walked through the busy mall. "So, I'm watching over Lucy after lunch," she told the white haired boy. "Who you gonna pair up and make a double with?"

"I've got Lynn," he answered. "I think the bookstore and the sports goods place are close together, right?"

"Sure are, dude. Wanna head their first?"

"Sounds good." They saw the two stores in question, **T H Wrights** and **Worth The Weight**, and decided to go into the former first. The bookstore was as busy as could be expected, but was ironically one of the quietest stores in the mall by comparison. There were about thirty or so customers browsing the various hardbacks and paperbacks, looking to see what they could find for themselves or for Christmas gifts. "So, are you looking for anything in here?"

"Yeah, I heard about a book I think Spooky will love. It's a bit of an oldie about a guitar player who finds a song able to summon the dead. It's supposed to have a romantic subplot, so I think she'll dig it."

"She'll love it, trust me."

The rocker smiled with boosted confidence. "Thanks, bro. So, what are you gonna get her?"

"Actually, I'm picking up something at the comic book store for her. She recently got into manga, so I'm gonna get her something there."

"Oh, so, you're not getting anything here?"

"No, I am, just not for Lucy. I need to get Lola's present here."

Perplexed, the brunette raised an eyebrow. "Really? Lola? I figured you'd get her some pageant thing or a new toy."

"I think most of the others are doing that. Besides, I know from helping her that she's been getting better at reading and seems to enjoy most of the books we read together. I think there's a book here that she might like."

"Well, that's some crafty thinking you've got there, bro," she told him, giving a little ruffle to his hair. "Guess we better get a move on. Never know when they're gonna run out."

"You're not wrong, sis. Lead the way." So, they began browsing the shelves to see if they could find the books that they were looking for. Lincoln started by browsing the young kids section for Lola's present from him, which proved fruitful. Though he didn't find what he had initially searched for in the previous days, he found a series of books by Jolene Whitcombe that would be a good alternative, and the selection was reasonably priced, so he took hold of the books and found Luna, the high schooler searching through a stack of books in the teen reading section. "Any luck?"

"Not really," she admitted. "There's stuff by the same author, but that doesn't seem like her deal. Couldn't see it in the other sections either, so they might not have it."

"That sucks. Is there anything else you could get her?"

She sighed heavily. "I heard Luan's getting her what my backup was, and there's not much else I can think of."

"Well, I might be able to help you there." She looked to her brother, a mix of intrigue and hope in her expression. "I heard from Lynn that Lucy told you girls about her… secret."

It took her a few seconds, but Luna realised what her brother was suggesting. "Oh, yeah! I kinda forgot about that. I could get her that… though, I'd feel so awkward about it. If one of my mates saw me, I'd freak."

The look he gave back to his sister was slightly disappointed. "If it'll make Lucy happy, don't you think it would be worth it?"

She gave another sigh, though smiled. "Yeah, you're right, bro. It's not about me, it's about letting her open up a little happiness at Christmas."

"There we go. Come on, I'll show you where to find them."

"Hold on, bro. How do you know that?" she asked with a bemused grin.

"She's asked me to get some for her before, so I know which ones she has, too. I'll make sure you don't get something she already has."

"You're too good to us, bro."

"I know." They both chuckled at the quip before Lincoln led his sister back to the young kids section, showing her through the selection of Princess Pony books available. "Lucy has a lot of these. She keeps up with the comic quite regularly, too… though I don't think she has that one." He pulled out a book that was larger than the others, which was entitled _**Princess Pony: The Festive Filly Frolic**_, and looked at the back. "This came out… yesterday! Yeah, there's no way she has this."

"Guess I got lucky, huh, bro?" she told the boy, who nodded as he handed her the book. "Well, thanks, Linc. You saved my bacon there."

"No problem, Luna. Let's go pay for these, and then move on to the sports store."

"Sounds like a plan. Tell you what, why don't I get your thing while I'm at it?"

"Really?" She nodded. "You know that won't change what I get _you_, right?"

This brought a dramatic gasp out of his sister, who told him with a faux offended tone, "the thought never crossed my mind!" They stared at each other, neither budging for a few seconds, before the two were sharing laughter once again. "Seriously, bro, it's no problem on my end. I insist."

"Well, if you're really okay with it, then… yes, please."

"Sure thing, bro." He handed the book selection to Luna, who held it under her arm. "Give me five minutes, and we'll head on over." He nodded, before she joined the queue to the checkout. The line wasn't that long and there were two cashiers, so she didn't take too long to be done, putting the Princess Pony book in her bag with the receipt and holding the Jolene Whitcombe books under her arm again. When she went to find Lincoln, she saw him browsing another stand of books. She went over to him, the boy not noticing her presence. "Whatcha find?"

He jumped slightly, turning while clutching his beating chest and calming down when he realised it was only Luna. "You… that was quick."

"My B. Didn't mean to spook you." He gave a small smile, letting her know that it was okay, while she gave him the books to put in his bag. "So, whatcha looking at? Trying to give me clues, bro?"

He rolled his eyes at the teasing insinuation. "Nah, that would take the fun out of it. I was just… browsing. You know, while I was waiting for you."

Something about the way the boy spoke didn't seem right to Luna, but she knew that the clock was ticking, so she simply said, "if you say so. Anyway, we've got more shopping to do, so let's get a move on, right?"

"Right."

* * *

The two hours seemed like a blur, what with the increasing flow of shoppers filling the mall and passing them by. Luna and Lincoln were able to get a lot of their Christmas shopping done, both of them getting their respective gifts for Lisa, both twins, Lynn and Luan, and with Lincoln also getting his present for Lori. It was when they left the toy store that they realised it was time for them to meet up with the others, so they returned to the front of the store, where the others were waiting by the fountain. They had all filled their bags to varying degrees, some only a little and some nearly brimming with gifts. When everyone was there, Lori took them to Vanzilla, letting them put the bags into the trunk while monitoring them to make sure that no one tried to peek at what the others had bought.

Once everyone had done that, Lori led them towards the escalator to the food court. "Okay, we don't have enough time to get food from loads of different places, so we're going to vote," she informed them. "Who wants Burpin Burger?" She watched as four hands were thrown up. "Who wants pizza?" This time, five hands went up, including her own. "Majority carries. We're getting pizza."

"Not if Lincoln votes Burpin Burger!" Lana argued, getting backing from Luan, Lynn and Lisa.

"Ugh, fine. Lincoln, which do you want?" She waited for him to answer, but when he didn't, she looked and saw that he had fallen behind, looking down at his phone. "Lincoln!" The shout startled the boy, making him look forward and jog over to them. "Don't fall behind, twerp, it's busy enough today. Now, which do you want, pizza or Burpin Burger?"

"Uh... Burpin Burger, I guess."

The girls either cheered or groaned at the decision, with Lori's being a frustrated one. "Fine, then. Lynn, you get Burpin Burger for you guys, I will get pizza for the rest of us."

"Listen, I'll catch up with you. I need to, uh, use the bathroom real quick."

Lori frowned at her brother. "Lincoln, I just told you it's too busy. Can you wait for one of us to go with you?"

"I'll be fine, Lori, I'm not a little kid. Besides, it'll look odd if one of you is waiting by the men's bathroom."

"Oh, fine, but be quick about it. We don't want to be here too long in case it gets busier." He nodded, then turned and took off while the girls all went up the escalator. As they neared the food court, Lori turned to Luna. "You were watching Lincoln. Did he seem off to you?"

"Not especially," she confessed. "We mostly just got what we needed, paid for them and left… though, he was browsing a lot."

The older girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "Browsing?"

"Yeah, not really looking for something particular but definitely looking for something."

"So?" Lynn butt in. "He's probably trying to find something for someone, and he doesn't know what."

"I doubt it," Lucy argued, spooking her sisters. "Lincoln prides himself on his planning, and he knows us so well."

"Maybe it's for someone else," Leni suggested, which made Lola gasp.

"Maybe it's for Jordan!" This suggestion brought excited smiles to the faces of her sisters. "I bet he's going to get her some beautiful jewellery!"

"No way! He's gonna get her some gymnastics gear!" Lynn argued. "It's what they've got a common bond in, after all."

"I heard him say she's into Smooch," Luna pointed out. "He's gonna get her an album for them to rock out together."

"You're off your rocker! Get it?"

The comedienne's joke, rather than spark the usual reaction of groans, instead led to bickering about what the boy could potentially have gotten for his friend, which Lori saw was drawing the eyes of nearby shoppers. "That's enough!" she snapped, silencing them. "When Lincoln catches up, we'll ask him, but let's get some tables so we can get our food and eat, okay?"

The girls reluctantly agreed, giving a resigned "fine" before following her into the food court. Many of the tables were already taken by adults, families and groups of friends indulging in the multiple food court offerings. Fortunately, they were able to find a couple of tables for four and borrow a couple of chairs from other tables. Once the others were sat down, Lori and Lynn went to order their food, leaving the other seven sisters to chat amongst themselves while they waited.

"So, what do you really think Linky's getting?" Leni eventually asked, resparking the conversation from before.

"If that's what he was looking around for, then he might not know what to get her," Luna explained. "He might not even have gotten it yet. He might be getting it after lunch."

"As interesting as it might be to speculate on the item of his gift giving selection, I fear we may be overlooking the more pertinent point of enquiry," Lisa stated, receiving confused looks from the others.

"What are you suggesting?" Lucy asked, to which the genius adjusted her glasses.

"If our male sibling is getting a present for Jordan, is he getting her a gift to suggest that he likes her, or a gift from a friend?"

"It's been obvious he likes her for months!" Lola answered first. "He just doesn't know how to tell her, so he's going to get her something really special!"

"No way, brah," Luna argued. "You never use a Christmas gift to tell a girl how you feel. It just gives off the wrong message."

"But, if he gets her something she really likes, surely that shows he cares about her!" Luan proclaimed. "You don't get something like that for someone if you're just friends!"

"I bought stuff like that for my friends!" Leni added.

"Yeah, but you're nice to everyone," Lana pointed out, which only made Leni's smile grow.

"Aww, thanks, Lana!"

The others either rolled their eyes or facepalmed at the brief Leni-ism, before Lucy noticed something. "Looks like we'll get our answer."

The others looked where she was looking, and saw that their brother had finally caught up to them, his hands buried in his pockets. He looked around before eventually finding and making his way over to his sisters. "Sorry I took so long," he apologised.

"It's fine, Link," Luan told him as he sat next to her. "Line must have been hectic, right?"

He blinked at the suggestion. "Uh… the line?"

"The line you were in when getting Jordan's present, Lincoln!" Lola clarified, making his eyes go wide.

"How did you know I was going to get something for Jordan?! I never told any of you about this!"

"Your actions prompted our collective suspicions," Lisa explained. "You weren't particularly discreet."

He was going to say something in response, but didn't when he saw the girls close in on him slightly with eager expressions. "So, like, what did you get her?"

"Was it music?"

"Jewellery?"

"Literature?"

"Girls!" he yelled, holding his hands up to signal for the girls to back up and give him space. "I know you all want to know, but I still need to _get _her the gift first, and to do that, I need to find what _it _is. I really did have to go to the bathroom, okay?" He saw the lack of belief in their eyes as he told them this, so he sighed. "Look, can we please just drop this for now? I'll tell you later when I find something for her."

Once again, the girls were reluctant but agreed, starting up new conversations on other topics. As he listened to what the other girls had to say, Lincoln pulled one hand out of his pocket with his phone, holding it over his leg under the table and sneakily texting.

_Lincoln: thanks for the suggestion. I think you're right. I think she'll really like it_


	83. Ch 83- Smooth Skating

In stark contrast to the hectic hustle and bustle that came with Christmas shopping the day before, the Louds were enjoying a much calmer day at home that Sunday. They had already enjoyed much of the morning playing in the snow, and now that lunch had passed, they were helping with decorating the house for Christmas Day, which was drawing ever closer. The twins, Leni and Luan were all working away at the Christmas tree with their mother, putting tinsel and baubles and ornaments of all sizes, shapes and colours onto the branches and over the fairy lights. Lisa was sat reading next to Lily as the infant played with her teddy, Lori and Luna were putting decorations on the window, Lynn Jr was holding her father's ladder steady as he hung tinsel and banners on the wall, and Lincoln was holding Lucy up so she could dress the fireplace with assorted ornaments. Some were more traditionally Christmassy, and there were a few personal ones from her and her sisters, such as a vampire in a black Santa hat, an elf lifting a barbell and a guitar playing Rudolph.

"This is pleasant," she told her brother, setting a candle on the corner of the fireplace. "The one time of year the darkness in me steps aside, and hope fills my heart."

"Well, it's always a good time of year," Lincoln agreed. "Even for us, things are quiet and peaceful."

"Not when it comes to opening presents, though."

He chuckled, unable to argue with the young goth. "Yeah, but that's true for everyone." He watched as she put the last decoration on the mantle, then set her back down on the floor. "You might be able to reach it for yourself next year."

"Actually, projections suggest that it'll take a year and a half for your height to reach the minimum threshold level for such an activity," Lisa cut in, her eyes not drifting from her book.

"C'mon, Lise, no need to burst her bubble," Luna said to the genius, looking over her shoulder. "It's almost Christmas, dudette."

"She's right," Lincoln said with a nod. "Besides, even if she's not quite tall enough next year, I'll still help her if she needs me to."

A sliver of a smile appeared on Lucy's face. "Thank you, Lincoln."

"Come on, I'm your brother, Lucy. I'm always here to help if you need it." The chorus of cooing from the sisters that heard this made him blush. "Or, you know, whatever."

"Lincoln, there's no need to be bashful," Lori told the boy. "You're literally the best brother any of us could ever ask for, be proud of that."

Although he didn't look any less bashful, his smile grew. "Thanks."

Rita's smile also grew, seeing all of her children getting along amicably and peacefully. 'I love these special moments,' she thought to herself. 'If the whole year was like this, it just wouldn't be the same. Even if times get tough, we pull together and make it work.'

"Okay, LJ," she heard her husband say, turning to see him step down after putting tinsel over the dining room entrance. "I think that'll do for now."

"Hey, I can always do the rest if you need me to," his namesake offered, to which he sternly frowned.

"No chance. Not after last year."

"Your father's right," Rita agreed. "You're not to be trusted with a hammer." The jock rolled her eyes before walking over to her brother and roommate. The matriarch gave a small sigh as her husband approached her. "How much is left to do?"

"Other than the holly on the door, there's the dining room and the landing still to do, but the stairway and the living room are done." He turned to the girls gathered around the tree and asked them, "how's the tree coming along?"

"Nearly done, Daddy!" Lola answered, putting one last bauble on a low branch before stepping back with the others. "And done!"

Everyone gathered round to look at the work. It was clear that multiple people had worked on it, as the decorations were arranged in somewhat different manners— Lola's were more neatly added while Lana's were less so, and Luan's tinsel was put on more loosely while Leni's was dressed neatly, as if she were giving the tree a scarf. Overall, though, everyone thought it was a great sight.

"That looks wonderful, kids!" the father commended, patting the two elder daughters on the shoulders while Rita bent down to do the same for the twins. "You've done a great job!"

"Yep! We make a great treem!" Luan joked with enthusiasm, giving her usual laugh. "Get it?"

The others groaned at the pun, before Leni asked something that would briefly change the atmosphere in the room. "So, like, who's gonna put the star on?"

The kids blinked as both parents looked worried, and within seconds, everyone was talking over each other to say why they should be the one that put the star on the tree. The only ones not talking were Lincoln and Lily, who the boy noticed was still playing with her teddy. Watching his baby sister play peacefully, he realised something.

"Guys!" he shouted, managing to get their attention enough for them to stop talking as well. "Maybe Lily should get to put the star on the tree this year! She was too young last year, and she's the only one of us who has never done it."

"Lincoln's right!" his father realised.

"Plus, it's always been a tradition that on your second Christmas, you would get to put the star on the tree," Rita informed them, bringing smiles and fond memories to the older girls.

"She's literally right," Lori acknowledged with a nostalgic tone to her words. "It's always so cute to watch, too."

"I remember when you did it for the first time, bro," Luna reminisced. "You tried to climb the tree like a little monkey. You wouldn't let go, so Dad had to hold you while we held the tree so you couldn't pull it over."

"Funnily enough, I don't remember that," the embarrassed boy muttered, his cheeks heating up again as everyone shared laughters at the memory.

"Ooh! I'll go get my video camera!" Luan offered, taking off up the stairs to get the item in question. She returned in just seconds, video camera in hand and filming. "And you're live."

"Thanks, Luan." Rita turned to Lily, who had been curious about what they were talking about since hearing her name mentioned. "Hey, Lily!" She picked the infant up, bouncing her slightly in her arms. "Wanna help Mama finish the tree?" The somewhat intelligible response from the baby was taken as a yes by the mother, who looked to her husband. "Lynn, where's the star?"

"Right here, honey," he replied, holding out the gold star. "Are you sure it's light enough for her?"

"I'll make sure she can hold it, don't worry." She took the star from Lynn Sr, then held it out to the baby. "Wanna put the star up?" Lily nodded, taking the star as best she could in her stars. Rita walked her over to the tree, the rest of her family giving playful encouragement as Lily gently reached out with the star, and after some reaching from both Lily and Rita, she eventually put the star on the top of the tree, to which her siblings all cheered and clapped. "Well done, Lily!"

"That's my girl!" Lynn Sr praised, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Knew it," Lynn Jr whispered to Lana, who grumbled and handed the middle schooler a pair of dollar bills. "Easy money."

The patriarch eventually got a grip, giving a few last sniffles. "Right. Who wants some hot cocoa?"

The kids all eagerly asked for some, while Rita disapprovingly shook her head. "Lynn, they've just had lunch."

"Ah, it's fine. Besides, they've all been so good and helped with decorating. I think they deserve a small treat."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine, but don't blame me if the house falls apart."

"I won't." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her roll her eyes again but smile while doing so. "Right! Thirteen cups of cocoa, coming right up!"

The man disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the family to discuss what to do next. Lincoln was talking with Luan, when he heard his phone ringing. He quickly excused himself and pulled his phone out, answering the call and holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

"**Hey, Lincoln,"** he heard Jordan greet on the other line. **"Are you free right now?"**

"Uh, yeah, I'm free. What's up?"

"**Me and some of the others are gonna head down to the park and do some ice skating. Want to join us?"**

"Sure, that sounds fun. When should I be there?"

"**We said we were going to meet at half two, so about then."**

"Okay. I'll start heading there in a couple of minutes."

"**Great! I'll see you soon."**

"See you soon, Jordan." With that, he hung up his phone and went into the kitchen. "Hey, dad? I'm heading to meet some friends at the park, so no cocoa for me.

"You sure, champ?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

"Well, if you want, I'll whip a cup up for you later on."

"Thanks, Dad." He turned around to head upstairs, but stopped with a startle when he noticed his sisters were right behind him, Cheshire grins on their faces. "Geez! Lucy, have you been teaching them how to sneak up on people?!"

"No, but I'll make a note to do that," she responded with uncharacteristic glee.

"Was that Jordan?" Lori asked, making the boy sigh. "What are you going to be doing together?"

"Does it really matter to you?"

Lynn cocked an eyebrow at her brother's blunt answer. "What, we can't take an interest in what our brother gets up to?"

He put a hand on his hip and snippily argued, "you don't whenever I hang out with Clyde and the others!"

"That's because we know what you and Clyde get up to," Lana pointed out, her twinning nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it's always the same stuff with you two! Jordan, on the other hand—"

"Okay, let me stop you there, Lola!" Lincoln interrupted, holding a hand up to her. "We're not getting into this, because I need to get going. Just promise you won't follow me or spy on me." They gave halfhearted agreements to their brother, who then narrowed his sights on the four year old brunette. "That includes you, Lisa!"

She rolled her eyes with a scoff. "I have more important matters to attend to, and I don't wish for you to follow through with your promise from last time. I shall not maintain surveillance on you or your companions."

"That's good." He passed by his sisters, heading upstairs to gather his things. 'I should probably keep an eye out. Just in case.'

* * *

When she reached the park, Jordan saw that there weren't as many people about as she had expected, only half a dozen skaters on the frozen water and a handful of others playing on the snow covered grass around it. She quickly found that Joy and Mollie were already waiting for her, the former in a purple sweater, blue jeans, white gloves and purple earmuffs, and the latter wearing a wine red parka, grey jeans, black gloves and a white scarf. They saw the Rosato girl approaching and walked over to meet her.

"Hey, you made it!" Joy greeted.

"Sorry if I'm late," Jordan replied. "Dad needed a hand with some of the decorating."

"Nah, we've not been here long," Mollie assured her friend. "So, shall we get skating, or are we still waiting on someone?"

"Perhaps someone whose white hair probably looks more natural this time of year?"

Jordan gave the dark haired girl a disapproving shake of her head. "Joy, that's horrible. There is nothing wrong with his hair."

"No, but you knew who was talking about."

She shook her head again with a sigh. "Yes, I invited him. He's my friend, I figured he'd enjoy hanging with us."

"Hey, don't get so defensive," Mollie told her, holding her hands up in surrender. "We don't mind, really. If anything, it'll be interesting to see if he's bad or not."

Both Joy and Mollie chuckled at the joke, with Jordan unable to resist doing the same as she told them, "you girls are awful," before seeing the boy in question jogging over.

"Hey," he greeted to the girls as he slowed to a stop. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Nah, we were just talking about you, actually," Mollie informed him with an unrestrained grin.

"Really? Let me guess, something along the lines of "you didn't invite the Girl Guru". That about it?"

"You know, if you want us to forget about it, maybe don't bring it up," Joy suggested, to which he gave a small chuckle. "So, are the rest of Clan Loud following?"

"Not that I know of. I asked them not to, but I'll keep an eye out just in case."

Joy blinked. "I was joking. They aren't actually coming, are they?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Jordan told her. "I'm just glad there's not really anywhere for Lisa to hide spy cameras here."

"Unless Lisa's developed snow drones." Both Lincoln and Jordan laughed at the suggestion, before looking to the now creeped out Mollie and Joy. "Guys, I'm joking. I made sure to tell them not to, and Mom and Dad said they'd ground any of them if they did. Who would risk getting grounded this close to Christmas?" His sound reasoning brought relief to the two other girls, whose expressions relaxed. "Now, come on. Let's skate!"

In agreement, they all made their way around the frozen pond towards the rental stand. "So, Loud," Joy chose to ask, "you ever skated before?"

"A couple of times, though not for a long time. Not since Lynn asked me to help her with ice hockey. So, if you're expecting me to be bad… well, you're probably right."

The girls shared a laugh once more, before Jordan comforted him by saying, "Linc, you'll be fine. It's just about having fun, we're not here to compete or anything."

Mollie and Joy both looked to each other, their eyes widened as they shared the same thought. 'Did she just call him Linc?'

Of course, neither said anything before they reached the rental stand, each giving five bucks for a pair of skates. They found a bench close enough to the lake and sat down on it, trading their winter footwear for ice skates. Mollie and Joy took to the ice first, with Jordan looking back as Lincoln staggered towards the temporary rink like a newborn deer, making her giggle.

"Come on, Lincoln!" she urged, stepping onto the ice.

"I'm coming!" he replied, though he couldn't help but think, 'eventually'. He made his way to the ice, immediately feeling a wobble in his legs as he slowly slid forward, doing his best to keep his balance. "Okay, I'm on the nice. Now… how do I move?"

Before he could even attempt to do so, Mollie skated past him, the sudden breeze she caused catching him off guard, sending his arms flailing before he inevitably landed on his butt. The impact wasn't too rough, but he still groaned a little as he rubbed his derrière. When he heard someone slow to a stop in front of him, he looked up, being met with a bemused grin from Jordan.

"Need a hand?" she offered, holding a hand out to him. He smiled meekly as he nodded, putting one gloved hand on the ice and holding hers with his other, then gently got back to his feet, though still wobbly. "You really haven't skated in a while, have you?"

"It's been more than a year, yeah, and it's not like I did it a lot to begin with."

She couldn't resist a small titter, before then asking him, "would you like me to show you?" Though still feeling timid, he gave a nod. "Well, first things first, give me your hand." He looked at the hand she held out, the same one she had used to help him to stand up, and took hold of it. "Alright. Now, you never want to look down while skating. Keep your head up, and lean forward with your knees bent."

"So, like this?"

She watched him shift his posture according to her instructions. "Almost, just don't bend down quite so much." He nodded and straightened his posture a little. "There we go. Now, what you're going to do is lift your foot up and step it forward, then lift your other foot up slightly as you glide forward."

"Okay?" He attempted to do just that, moving forward a little with her doing the same to keep pace. "And then, repeat it?"

"You've got it!" She kept with him as he began to get a feel for it, encouraging him as his tentative steps became more confident. "When you think you've gotten a hang of it, try extending your leg further with each step." He nodded back to her, doing just that. This allowed him to start skating faster, with Jordan keeping up to make sure he was getting it. She watched him for a minute or so, seeing his smile grow with his confidence, and it made her smile grow too. "You've got it! I'm going to let go of your hand now, okay?"

"Uh… yeah, okay. One… two… three… now!" She let go and Lincoln pulled his arm back, a slight wobble coming as he adjusted his balance, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that he was able to keep skating. "I… I did it!"

Jordan's laughter returned, finding something very endearing in the boy's innocent glee. "I knew you could, Lincoln," she told him, her smile growing and a blush forming as he smiled at her. "You just needed a confidence boost."

"Well, I think it was you helping me that gave me it." He could now see the pinkness in her cheeks, which brought a bit of a blush to his own face. "So, uh, how do I stop skating?"

"You're not tired already, are you?" she teased, making his blush grow as he struggled for an answer. "Relax, I'm kidding. So, what you need to do is take your right foot, move it apart from your left foot and put it down sideways."

"Okay. I'll try it." He took a few more gliding steps before placing his foot sideways, quickly slowing him to a halt and kicking up a bit of frost. He saw Jordan skate past him and turn around, so that she could stop in front of him. "I'll be honest, that was… more sudden than I was expecting."

"You'll get used to it. Other than that, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. You're a good teacher."

"Aww, come on, you're just being nice."

"Doesn't mean it isn't true." She blushed again, though turned away to stop him from seeing as yet another couple of giggles came from the girl. "So, is that it?"

"Yeah, that's the basics of skating. Now, we just have fun with it!" Before he could ask about it, she took off and began to pick up speed. "Let's see if you can catch me!"

He chuckled as he yelled back, "let's do this," then took off after her. This would be the start of a fun filled half an hour on the ice, in which Lincoln, Jordan, Mollie and Joy would skate around the pond together, sometimes engaging in little races together, and Mollie and Joy would occasionally try and get Lincoln to do tricks. This would often end in laughter at the boy taking a tumble, though he surprised them a couple of times by managing to pull off some of the tricks. Eventually, though, Lincoln felt his energy beginning to run down a bit. "This has been pretty awesome," he told Jordan as he skated alongside her at a leisurely place.

"I'm glad you came, Lincoln," she replied. "It was more fun with you here."

"Really?" She nodded, and it made his heart feel warmer. "Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me, Linc. I invited you because I—" Before she could finish the sentence, she felt something hit into her skate, startling her and making her misplace her foot. This caused her balance to go completely off, and Lincoln saw that she was about to fall, so he reached out to grab her. He wasn't able to stop them from falling, so he pulled her closer and twisted himself, making him land on his back with Jordan on top of him. Jordan had shut her eyes from the mild fear that came with falling, but when she heard Lincoln groan in pain, her eyes shot open and she looked down, worry washing over her. "Lincoln! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm… I'm fine," he answered, though his expression and strained tone said otherwise.

"What happened?" Joy asked as she and Mollie skated over, having heard their friend's cry.

"I'm so sorry about that," they then heard a man apologise, looking over to see a red haired man in a black winter coat, black jeans and red gloves skate over, with a boy in a red puffer jacket, blue jeans, blue gloves and a blue beanie behind him. "I was teaching my son some ice hockey stuff, and the puck got away from me. I'm really sorry, kid."

"It's okay," Lincoln replied as best he could, pushing himself into a sitting position, with Jordan helping him. "Accidents happen, right? Don't worry about it." He then looked at the kid behind the man, an eight or nine year old boy who was acting shy. "What's your name, buddy?"

The kid looked out slightly from behind his father and replied, "J-Jerry."

"Don't worry, Jerry, I'm not upset with you. It was an accident, and I'm okay. Was this your first time playing ice hockey with your dad?" Jerry gave a small nod. "Well, if you enjoy it, and you keep practicing, maybe one day you'll make a team."

This seemed to calm the boy down, as he gave a small smile. "You think?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you're okay, kid?" Jerry's dad insistently asked, to which Lincoln nodded. "Do you need a hand up?"

"No, I can manage." True to his word, Lincoln steadily but surely got back to his feet, managing to keep his balance when back on his feet. "See? I'm fine."

"That's a relief. Still, if you need anything, just let me know."

"I will." He then looked to Jerry and told him, "have fun playing ice hockey, Jerry."

"I will!"

With that, the group of sixth graders gave waves as the father and son skated away again. "That was cute," Joy admitted.

"Yeah, you were really nice to that kid, Lincoln," Mollie agreed.

"Well, he seemed scared, and I knew that if it was one of my sisters, I'd want them to know I wasn't mad at them. He's just a kid playing with his dad, he didn't mean any harm."

"Either way, that was sweet of you to do, Linc," Jordan told him, which made his smile grow, as it did the grins of her friends.

"Thanks. So, I don't know if you guys had anything else planned, but I think that's enough skating for me today."

"Yeah, I think so too," Mollie said, with Jordan and Joy nodding too. "How about we take the skates back, and see if we can find something else to do?" The others agreed, so they began to skate back to the bench where their shoes were waiting. Mollie skated close to Jordan, pulling her slightly away from the others. "You know, that's the second time he's protected you from a fall. Seems he really cares about you."

"You think? I think it's just something he gets from looking after his sisters. Still, I'm gonna have to pay him back for that later. He's a great guy, and I'm glad I invited him."

"Yeah, I can tell. Since when did you start calling him Linc, huh?"

Jordan's eyes went wide as her cheeks flushed upon being called out on that. "Sh-shut up," she muttered as she skated ahead, hearing Mollie chuckle behind her as they left the ice.


End file.
